Stellenbosch Publicity and Marketing (SPM) held its Annual General Meeting at Devon Valley Hotel in the Western Cape last week and reported a positive growth in income derived from tourism levies, despite challenges facing the hospitality industry over the past financial year.
SPM was established in 2010 to create funding for the marketing of Stellenbosch as a premier business and leisure tourism destination. The amount collected from the 1% levy, which member companies, mainly accommodation establishments, add to their bills, increased by 28%, representing approximately R127 000 (€8 156). From modest beginnings in 2010/11, when only R116 132 (€7 459) was obtained from member levies, increased to R807 497 (€51 867) last year.
Craig Seaman, Chairman of SPM, emphasised that the main task and role of SPM was to build brand Stellenbosch and to optimally promote Stellenbosch tourism with Stellenbosch 360, the official tourism organisation of the town as a main beneficiary. “Monies are dedicated to active marketing and not on, for example, research or operational costs. With the available funds, we market Stellenbosch and the surrounding region as a top national and international tourist destination and initiate essential initiatives such as global trade visits. In addition, SPM’s funding is used to proactively develop Stellenbosch as a major conferencing and business tourism destination.”
Ann Heyns, Marketing and Development Manager of Stellenbosch 360, told Tourism Update that the levy contributed to things such as the Stellenbosch Experience campaign, which ran over a three-year period, with the Stellenbosch Wine Route and Destinate as partners, bringing international media bloggers and influencers, as well as journalists to the Western Cape and the Stellenbosch region.
“The levy also enabled Stellenbosch 360 to launch its new and presently ongoing global #LovingStellenbosch campaign in September 2017, with the aid of four videos portraying Stellenbosch’s own ‘magic’, lived through and told by its own people,” says Heyns.
Another initiative that the levy supports is the annual Stellenbosch Business Tourism Indaba, says Heyns, which was first introduced in June, 2017, positioning and strengthening Stellenbosch’s vision to become a global conference and events centre, with the ultimate objective of increasing the prosperity of the region through attracting more visitors and investment, as well as creating new jobs, all of which help to deliver economic growth to the greater Stellenbosch region.
Destination marketing is essential for the Stellenbosch region, she says, adding that the Stellenbosch 360 website has also undergone significant development and refinement.
Annemarie Ferns, CEO of Stellenbosch 360, adds: “We welcome and thank the newcomers Lanzerac Hotel and Babylonstoren, whose valuable contributions assisted us greatly.
“I would like to encourage more role players in the tourism industry, however big or small, to participate in this initiative. To implement a voluntary tourism levy of as little as 1% requires little effort on behalf of the SPM members. The impact of SPM’s contribution is enormous – without it we would be hard pressed to sustain a world-class multi-level marketing campaign promoting our exceptional town and all its offerings to business and leisure travellers globally,” she concluded.
