South African Tourism targets Kolkata's HNI market as growth area

Here people seem keen to make the maximum use of their time while visiting South Africa, she said. 

South African Tourism concluded the seventh edition of its annual travel trade training session in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Aimed at equipping travel agents with relevant tips to sell the destination, 'Learn South Africa' (Learn SA) was a 17-city training programme covering urban metros as well as tier II and III markets.

According to reports, Indian leisure visitor numbers to South Africa surged 21.7 per cent during 2016 to close at an arrivals figure of 95,377 78,385 in 2015) and eighth among South Africa's international source markets.

Overall spend by Indians (only in-country on-tour spends) in 2016 crossed 1,2 billion ZAR (South African Rand).

"2016 was a milestone year for us at South African Tourism in India and we are determined o set new benchmarks for the industry as well as ourselves by making 2017 bigger and better," said Slabber.

According to Slabber, South Africa Tourism has seen a substantial increase in the number of visitors from Kolkata over the past five years.

Kolkata has been one of the most rapidly growing source markets driving tourist traffic to South Africa, said Slabber.

Going by the 2017 New World Wealth Report, Kolkata localities Ballygunge and Alipore alone have emerged as the most affluent in India with the total wealth in Kolkata amounting to nearly $290 billion.  Kolkata is also home to 9600 millionaires – which is more than Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai or Gurgaon.

The report has encouraged South African Tourism to tap into the HNI (High net worth individual) market of Kolkata through travel agent training programme.

Devesh Kumar Agarwal, Chairman - Eastern Region, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) said that besides West Bengal, their member travel agencies from Assam and Odisha have also seen an increased interest among customers regarding travelling to South Africa.

"Some of our members from Odisha have successfully marketed MICE travel to South Africa," he said. 

Said Bettaiah Lokesh, Hon. Secretary General, TAAI, "With South African Tourism,  this is the second time that we have undertaken this training. We are happy that the trade is getting exclusive marketing tips from the SAT team and stakeholders from SA who have come to India."

“Learn SA helps ensure that Indian travel agents know how to choose the best quality hotels for their customer’s budget and needs. It also teaches them how to choose the best in-destination partners to escort the traveler while on holiday. It also gives them updates about new things to see and do in South Africa and basics like visa and logistical know-how to ensure that travelers are catered to efficiently,” said Slabber.

South Africa is the perfect destination for the well-travelled Kolkatite with its variety of distinctive attractions, unforgettable experiences, world-class facilities and excellent infrastructure, said Slabber.

Apart from regular destinations such as Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Kruger National Park , South Africa Tourism is keen to promote  lesser-known destinations such as Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Port Elizabeth and the Drakensberg region.

One of the key problems as many agents pointed out was connectivity.

According to Hanneli Slabber, efforts are on to increase seat capacity on relevant flight routes ex-Kolkata. Presently, Kolkata is connected to South African cities by Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Jet Airways and Air Seychelles which fly via their respective hubs and domestic India connections.
  
The Rand (ZAR)-Rupee exchange rate has been relatively favorable for the India market. Since the South Africa product quote comes in ZAR and not US dollars, Indian travelers are able to buy more experiences and activities for less money thus, making South Africa a value-for-money destination, emphasised Slabber.

(Reporting by Uttara Gangopadhyay)