DRNew Delhi: The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) is all set to organise its fourth Annual Convention in the beautiful city of Cape Town in South Africa from August 11-14, 2018. ‘Digitalisation – The Way Forward’ is the theme of the convention this year.
Announcing the convention dates in New Delhi, Mahendra Vakharia, President, OTOAI, said: “We are very excited to explore the beautiful destinations and hotels of South Africa to have a first-hand experience.”
“Through our convention, we are endeavoring to bring value on the table for our members, country, and the host destination. The three conventions that OTOAI has conducted so far had excellent feedback not only from the members but from the tourism boards as well,” he added.
According to the figures given, the host countries of past conventions, Manila – Philippines, Bali – Indonesia and Ras al-Khaimah – UAE have attracted a significant tourism growth of 28 per cent, 65 per cent and 27 per cent respectively after OTOAI convention.
Himanshu Patil, Vice President & Chairman, OTOAI Convention, informed that the convention would have an in-depth discussion on ‘Digitalisation – The Way Forward’. Elaborating on the theme, he added that the digital tools are playing an important role in the enhancement of business today. While the big travel companies are adopting various digital and technical methods, the small travel agents are still in manual mode.
“We wish that all our members explore this beautiful destination and participate in a large number.” OTOAI is expecting 200+ delegates for the upcoming convention. Alpa Jani, Manager-Trade Relations, South African Tourism, said: “Those OTOAI members who have successfully completed the South Africa Specialist programme will be a part of this convention. We are all set to extend the support required to make this convention a great success.”
This is the best time to visit South Africa as July 2018 marks the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, which has a yearlong plan to celebrate in all across the country.
On the importance of the convention, Bunny Bhoola, Director, African Link Travel, said: “The convention will give an opportunity to develop a partnership with local suppliers because there is an exhibition component that is going to be added to the convention.”
“South Africa has been well-known for cricket because between India and South Africa it has been so strong. However, the underlining aspect is, economies of both of the countries need to grow, and it’s going to happen through partnerships in tourism that can gain benefits to all the people,” she added.
Guldeep Singh Sahni, former President, OTOAI, said, “This convention will help educate our members and travel fraternity on the culture and heritage of this a beautiful country at large.”
There would be a three-day pre and post FAM trips for the delegates, which will be organised from August 8-11 and 14-17. The trip includes Garden Route, Sun City, Kruger National Park and Johannesburg. These are available on first come first served basis. Emirates and Ethiopian are expected to be the partner airlines for the convention. The cost of the registration for members will be Rs. 77,000 ex-Delhi and Rs.69,000 ex-Mumbai.
Direct connectivity to South Africa – Need of the Hour
“Despite the fact that there has been a constant increase in the number of tourist travelling to South Africa; if you look at the whole number of travellers the country is receiving at the moment, there is a huge scope from India. Despite having a huge potential of tourism the country is still looking to achieve its deserving number of share from this part of the world. As per the industry stakeholder’s feedback, if there is a direct connectivity to South Africa the number can go up many folds,” said Guldeep Sahni.
“Direct flight from India to South Africa is the need of the hour, and I am sure if it happens, will make a huge difference. If you look at the trends, where there is a direct connectivity from source to final destination the tourism increases rapidly.”
Sahni further said that there are some countries which may not have much tourism potential but the numbers are still growing. Quite possibly, the country may not have looked at tourism as one of the product, but the tourist definitely looks at that country to visit because of the direct flight.
On the same lines, Vineet Gopal, Director, Representation World, said that if South Africa wants to see the good numbers coming from India, definitely they need a direct flight.
“As a tour company I can say that South Africa has a huge demand, there was a lot of queries from the travellers. However, non-availability of direct flights is a challenge as one has to go to other option which makes fare too high. And sometimes people shift to other destinations because of the higher cost.”
South Africa needs to have connectivity from all regions of India because the number of travellers is increasing across the country. “There was a time when a travel agent/tour operator from Tier II city used to go metro city to buy its products, which is not happening anymore. Rather operators who have been selling in metro cities are going to tier two cities itself. So if the connectivity happens directly they need to transit just one domestic flight to reach the destination which will see a huge growth itself,” added Sahni.
“Apart from the metros, there is a huge growth in Tier II cities where South Africa needs to strengthen its presence and attract the travellers to visit the country. The country needs to strengthen its partnership with travel agents and have good quality applications for their visa.”
While highlighting another important area that needs improvement, Gopal said that grant of Visa was taking a lot of the time. “Though they have addressed the issue very impactful and done a huge work in Delhi. North India is comfortable with the Visa at the moment while the western and southern part still needs to get better.”
Sahni suggested that Honeymoon and Family are two segments that the country needs to focus upon as these two can add a remarkable number of tourist to the country. The itinerary has to be designed in a way where Indian can get food of their choice.
“I think the tourist is also growing to an extent, they don’t want Indian food everywhere but after a day or two, every nationality wants their food. Also, needless to say, that they (South Africa) need more promotions across the country,” he concluded.
