Here’s a case study that should be of interest to everyone involved in the travel and tourism industry.

Fifteen years ago there were four towns in northern KwaZulu Natal that did not exactly spring to mind with reference to tourist destinations:  Ladysmith, Newcastle, Dundee and Vryheid.  The economies of these towns in the mid-nineties were in decline, mostly because of mine closures. A group of tourism role-players got together in 1996 to see if there was tourism potential in this area and found that the one common thread shared by all these towns was a close juxtaposition to important battlefields.  So it was decided to start a Battlefields Route with these four towns as the focal points.   A further incentive was the impending centenary of the Anglo-Boer War in 1999.  As an exercise, it was decided to measure any possible tourism spin-offs for the towns.  Dundee was chosen as a test case.  As part of the launch of the Battlefields Route, an inventory was taken of all the businesses in the town that offered a service related to tourism.  Over and above the obvious, like the accommodation establishments and tourist attractions, all businesses that could possibly benefit by an increase in tourism – pharmacies, tearooms, camera shops, transport businesses, etc – were canvassed and asked to report any increase in business that could be directly linked to an increase in tourism. Then the Battlefields committee started on a determined international marketing drive, taking the news of the commemoration of the war to the World Travel Market, printing brochures, taking out advertising, contacting historical societies, and generally spreading the word.  In 1996 the measurement of economic activity established that the businesses polled in Dundee were doing about R740 000 per year in tourism-related business. Eighteen months later that figure stood at R4 million.  During the actual commemoration, the figure rose to R14 million.  Oh, yeah, you might be thinking. And once the hoopla had settled down, the towns went back to their sleepy ways.  On the contrary, actually.  In 2008 the tourist spend on the Battlefields Route was a staggering R40 million. Over a 15-year period in Dundee alone the number of B&Bs increased from three to 57.  “And not a single tourist-related business has shown a drop in income since we started marketing the route,” says Ray Heron, owner of Spionkop Lodge and the new chairman of the Battlefields Tourism Association. “We were only able to do what we did because the local authority gave us the support.  We had no money to start off with, and without the input from local government we would never have been able to do what we did,” he says.  “But now the logical next step is for all these businesses that have grown or been created by this marketing initiative to take it over and start running it as a stand-alone programme.  This is what sustainable tourism should be all about – seed funding from the government to create the product, but then the product owners should be able to take it over and run it themselves.” So this is the new era for the Battlefields Route:  a professional marketing company and a businesslike approach for the route, which now encompasses 14 towns from the original four, and spreads over five districts.  “The Battlefields Route is an export product,” says Ray.  “It is just as important to South Africa’s economy as gold and manufacturing.  The people who are running the products on this route are doing a good job – the proof of this is the continued interest in the battlefields.  There are still a lot of people who have direct links to these battles and they cling to that history.   People come halfway round to the world to get here, and find to their amazement that they usually get more than they expected.  Apart from anything else, they do not expect it to be so beautiful or so varied. “Here’s a good example:  a recent visitor was a direct descendant of a British soldier and in a café he met up with a local person – the direct descendant of someone his ancestor had fought against.  It was fascinating listening to these two people talk to each other with direct family knowledge of a battle – but from opposite sides.” Ray Heron bought Spionkop Lodge 11 years ago when it was just a run-down farmhouse with an impressive history (it was the original farmhouse where Winston Churchill was billeted before his famous capture).  “I wanted to tell people about South Africa’s history, while living in the most beautiful part of the world and meeting interesting people,” he says.  “I’m living my dream.” And what a dream.  The farmhouse is built from warm sandstone, with wide peaceful lawns and a tangible sense of history and tranquillity.  It comes across as old-fashioned in the best possible sense of the word – the sort of hotel where an Agatha Christie mystery would not seem out of place.  But for Ray, the dream still needs some work. “There is still a lot to be done,” he says.  “No one has yet commemorated the Indian stretcher bearers of the war, and Gandhi’s contribution.  There are many other memorials we have to consider.  There is still so much that we can celebrate – and market to the world.” To get Battlefield brochures or to get more information, either go to the website www.battlefields.kzn.org.za or e-mail route@battlefields.org.za