Developing a Strategic Model for Branding South Africa as an International Tourism Destination, with Special Consideration of Multicultural Factors

Abstract

Recent developments towards global orientation and communication in both the business and the individual/household sector have had strong impacts on the tourism industry. As traveling becomes easier, faster, better organised and more affordable, the competition among tourism destinations intensifies (Freyer [199S] pp.12–13; WTTC [1996] pp.8–9). More destinations become accessible and comparable in the eyes of the consumer. A high degree of brand parity is the resultant perception (Krippendorf [1987] p.22).When marketing South Africa in markets for long-haul vacations it is important to ensure that tourism will be beneficial for its society. Tourism is a key foreign exchange earner for South Africa, promising a growing potential, while certain other sources of foreign exchange appear to relatively decline or stagnate. South Africa is a relatively new destination for tourism generating countries and therefore still at the beginning of the product life-cycle. If the destination is managed wisely, there is a good opportunity, due to the acknowledged magnificent physical quality of the tourism product, to survive short-term product life-cycles, and endure as a tourism brand.