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eing a tourist is no longer just about making simple travel plans. Tourists want more for their money. This does not necessarily translate into reduced prices, however. What they are saying is that they want more value from you and your destination. How often do you hear the words, “Are there more places we can visit, what restaurants can you recommend, where can we go?” TOURISTS ARE INQUISITIVE PEOPLE; THEY TRAVEL TO PLACES OF INTEREST, AND ARE LOOKING FOR VARIETY WITHIN THAT PLACE OF INTEREST AT ALL. And critically, they share information about the places they visit via social media e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Trip Advisor. Anecdotally there is a “six to one ratio” in the way that news travels: bad news travels six times further and faster than good news. Ask a multitude of tourism business owners how the approach this tourist trend? Many will tell you that they clean up the garden, repaint the walls, add more flowers to reception and happily await the next arrival. However, the return bookings don’t happen. In the eyes of the tourist, the value of your destination was not worth the visit. We in South Africa have to be guarded on this matter. Return bookings, are bookings from the same folk, time and time again. They come back for the good food, humour, good service, good experiences and most of all good company. They bring friends with them to enjoy all that they talked
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about before booking your venue. They are exceptionally valuable in that they bring you more business than a once off visitor will do, and the tourist dollar starts multiplying within the community as more places are visited. So look after them and protect them well as there are not too many of them around. An email type newsletter is cheap and effective. All you need is a cellphone camera, MS word or similar and a distribution software similar to Group Mail Pro. This is a fun thing to have. People love pictures of themselves enjoying good fun moments. Circulate them in a newsletter and then on Facebook or on Twitter or and that will make your venue even more popular [Editor’s note: You can even send a handwritten note with a picture in it by traditional post – stamp and all!]. However, tourists will only come back to your establishment if they continue to receive consistently good service and are kept occupied with new and interesting experiences. This means that you need to look broader than your own establishment. Tourism businesses today need to add value outside that of their immediate area. Thinking along these lines it becomes clear to me that “Educational Tourism” or just Edu-Tourism comes into play. To keep your tourists occupied and to stimulate all their senses, you need to introduce them to interesting parts and places in your surrounds. This would require providing information and access to: • Natural places including information on plants, butterflies, aquatic insects, birds and the like. • History and historical sites; • Local Culture and cultural sites;