South African Tourism capitalises on Europe's 'over-tourism' problem
Countries such as Spain and Portugal are experiencing an influx of tourists resulting in unhappy locals. SA Tourism is using it to its advantage.
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Africa Melane, standing in for John Maytham on CapeTalk, speaks to SA Tourism's Mashoto Mokgethi about how they are pitching travel to the local market in South Africa.
Several European countries are facing a phenomenon known as 'over-tourism,' where popular tourist destinations become overcrowded with visitors. This has led to locals feeling the infrastructural strain and protesting at these popular sites.
Mokgethi says SA tourism is taking advantage of this by marketing South Africa to international visitors and locals, telling would-be visitors to countries such as Italy, Spain and France to visit Mzansi instead.
The message to South Africans is simple: why travel far when you can experience the beauty of your own city? Stay home and explore the local beauty of your own city.
The message to international visitors is: we are open to tourism, have great weather and an even better exchange rate - so visit South Africa.
Mokgethi says since 2019 domestic travel numbers have doubled, and international tourism has increased.
'The reality is that since Covid-19, people have missed travelling to South Africa and are keen to make their way back,' adds Mokgethi.
When people visit South Africa, they love coming to the Western Cape, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, says Mokgethi.
"People are realising that there are lots of places to visit within the country and we are promoting a lot more places around South Africa as South African tourism."
- Mashoto Mokgethi, SA Tourism
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.