Tourism in the Northern Cape continues to grow and remains one of the biggest economic contributors in the province. Tourism statistics released by SA Tourism showed a year-on-year growth for both domestic , African and International arrivals as well as a significant increase in the duration of stay within the province.
According to Mr Karel Phentela, Chairperson of the Board of the Northern Cape Tourism Authority, these figures are really encouraging and indicate that the destination marketing efforts are on target and showing a positive return on investment. “One of our mandates as a destination marketing organisation is to grow tourism figures. However, it is also vital that tourism service providers within the province are made aware of the importance of service standards and quality of service. With arrival figures increasing, it is also our responsibility to highlight the crucial importance of consistent service excellence within the province,” explains Phentela.
“It is with this in mind that we have wholeheartedly put our support behind the National and Provincial Tourism Service Excellence Strategies and have embarked on an extensive awareness campaign highlighting the importance of sustained service excellence throughout the Northern Cape. It has to be kept in mind that this is not an issue only facing the Northern Cape, but an ongoing challenge for South Africa and the global tourism industry at large,” mentions Phentela.
The Northern Cape Department of Tourism adopted the national strategy and is in the process of finalising the provincial service excellence strategy. In preparation for this roll-out, the Northern Cape Tourism Authority launched its EXCELLENT SERVICE STARTS WITH ME public awareness campaign in November last year. The three-pronged strategy includes a standardised accreditation system, a service excellence index and tourism ambassador initiative. Follow-up workshops are still being conducted and will continue to all regions within the province and all tourism stakeholders.
“It is important for any campaign of this nature to establish a benchmark in order to gauge progress and that is why we conduct visitor feedback surveys to continuously measure the tourism offering of the Northern Cape to our visitors, to determine the needs and requirements of our visitors and see where improvements are required. The NC department of tourism and the NCTA will work hand in hand with tourism role players in the province to continue to improve our service levels to ensure that visitors have truly memorable experiences in the Northern Cape,” reiterates Phentela.
