Swaziland experienced a 17% increase in European visitors during 2014, with over 100 000 European visitors, compared with roughly 85 000 in 2013, according to figures from the Swaziland Tourism Authority (STA).

Speaking to Tourism Update at World Travel Market Africa this week, STA Marketing Manager, Bongani Dlamini, said the increase in European visitors followed a streamlined approach that focused on core markets. “One of the things we were doing before the strategy was in place was to do very little in many places,” he explained. “We have since decided that we can’t spread ourselves too thinly; we should focus more on core markets and try to increase market penetration.”

According to Dlamini, the authority is doing more in source markets, including the UK and The Netherlands. “We are also looking at countries neighbouring The Netherlands.” He added that the authority was also leveraging the country’s embassies more.

“We are also targeting most of the countries that in any case visit South Africa,” Dlamini said, adding that the reasoning was that operators in those countries could easily extend their customers’ stays to Swaziland. He said that while the authority’s broader vision was to market Swaziland as a standalone destination, people viewed Southern Africa as a region. “They find it much more enriching to their experience if they visit more than one country.”

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According to Dlamini, the peak seasons for Swaziland are the festive season as well as its high season from July to September, with the Reed Festival in August attracting high numbers of visitors. He said visitor numbers had also increased since the inception of Bushfire, an annual cultural festival that takes place in May and which also attracts international visitors.