Although the COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the tourism landscape, the ECPTA, its stakeholders and partners in tourism are on a mission to ensure visitor readiness as the Eastern Cape bounces back.
As you, our resilient Eastern Cape tourism product owners and service providers plan and strategise for the future, ask yourself:
- During this time, what opportunities do you have that you can take advantage of?
- What have you learned about your business that you didn’t know before?
- If you could have done something before COVID19 what would it have been?
- What can you do now to serve your customers in the future better?
We’ve introduced this monthly digital newsletter to bring you the latest industry developments, opportunities to implement relief and recovery and ideas to help you proactively plan your bounce-back strategy!
A JOINED-UP APPROACH TO
FIGHTING FOR OUR FUTURE!
A MESSAGE FROM THE ECPTA CEO – VUYANI DAYIMANI
Warm virtual greetings to colleagues across the tourism sector. As tourism is one of the sectors heavily hit by the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve held numerous engagement sessions, including webinars, with trade, product owners, associations and government stakeholders to share ideas and information to empower one another on ways to survive. ECPTA is proud to present this newsletter – Tourism Talk, as an extension of those sessions.READ MORE
YOURS TO EXPLORE
NEW BRAND POSITIONING – THE EASTERN CAPE ALIGNS TO BRAND SOUTH AFRICA
Opportunities to explore abound in the Eastern Cape, but do potential visitors know this? The ECPTA has aligned the province’s destination brand, previously branded Adventure Province Eastern Cape, with Brand South Africa, incorporating a slogan to highlight that which makes the Eastern Cape so unique.
GET TOURISM OPEN AGAIN – STICK TO THE RULES
PROTOCOLS FOR COVID-19 OPERATIONS
The very survival of the tourism industry and the jobs it creates rests in the adjustment of the current COVID-19 regulations. Every day that the industry remains restrained is a R748m loss of tourism expenditure and the further permanent loss of much-needed jobs.
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) recently presented a tourism recovery plan to goverment, backed by comprehensive health protocols developed by the industry and reflecting tourism’s commitment to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Adhering to these protocols will demonstrate the industry’s commitment to curbing the spread of the virus and assist in the Minister of Tourism’s efforts to motivate for the sector to open various aspects of travel and tourism. READ MORE
HELPING TOURISM – TO HELP ITSELF
A comprehensive tourism industry COVID-19 survey to quantify the extent of the impact of COVID-19, measure how effective support has been, and determine what kind of help is still required is underway. The survey, a collaboration between the Department of Tourism, TBCSA and all its member associations and the IFC, will be conducted three times over 12 months to track progress. READ MORE
REIMAGINE BUSINESS
POST-COVID-19 LOCKDOWN
That any good can come from this crisis is difficult to consider. Still, we’re taking stock of our lives, connecting with the people that are really important to us, doing many of the things that we’ve never had time to do and being creative with techonology and digital platforms, like never before. READ MORE
Businesses have adapted to the Eastern Cape’s lockdown reality in amazing ways. Many tourism business owners are showing fast, innovative thinking, adapting their strategies and assisting the communities within which they operate.
Tourism Talk is calling on tourism product and service owners to share your ideas and positive stories during this time of crisis. What have you done to adapt to the current situation? What are you doing to remain positive? What innovative ideas have you introduced to keep your business going until the industry opens up?
We feature these stories in this and the forthcoming issues of Tourism Talk.
A COMMUNITY, A NETWORK AND A SAFE SPACE TO COME TOGETHER
Heinie Bosman (chair) and members of the SATSA Youth Chapter have harnessed digital power in an innovative way to band colleagues in tourism together to weather the COVID19 storm. READ MORE
In this issue we celebrate tourism frontline product owner and guide Dawid de Wet, who has been an inspiration and storyteller to hundreds of visitors over the years. Lockdown inspired Dawid to pen and record his stories and make them available online to continue to inspire future visitors during this time. Here is his story: READ MORE
COFFEE SHACK GIVES BACK
The owners of Coffee Shack in Coffee Bay have always held firm the belief that investing in the community in a sustainable, meaningful manner, makes their wonderful part of the world a better, healthier environment for everyone including their guests and other visitors to the area.
With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the team from the Coffee Shack anticipated the dramatic impact of a national lockdown on the lives of the local community, many of whom are suppliers of various tourism products and services. They sprung to action not only to to see to it that the necessary messages and sanitising supplies were distributed, but to ensure that no income did not mean no food on the table! Here is their story: READ MORE
AT THE LEISURE & TOURISM HALL OF THE EASTERN CAPE’S VIRTUAL EXPO
The ECPTA is proud to be partnering in the unique Eastern Cape Virtual Expo – a ‘live’ interactive virtual trade show that will take place on 23 and 24 July 2020 from 08:30-17:00.
The expo is one of the relief measures designed by organised business to assist the over 260 participating businesses in the virtual exhibition halls to connect with thousands of visitors and buyers. READ MORE
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
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