Gauteng Tourism has taken its promotion drive to the United States of America through its participation in the New York (NY) Times Travel Show that ends on Sunday, January 29.
Gauteng Tourism Head of Promotions and Marketing Barba Gaoganediwe believes the show presents an exceptional opportunity to sell Gauteng in particular and South Africa in general to the lucrative North American travel market. “We intend to market packaged destination Gauteng tourism products and experiences to increase the province and city’s revenue,” he says.
“The increased revenue will come about as a result through increased visitor arrivals, spend and consumption of our tourism products and experiences especially the township offerings.”
The two-man travelling team – Gaoganediwe and Manager for Events Hans Kekana – representing Gauteng Tourism at the NY Times Travel Show hopes to grow knowledge and awareness of Gauteng’s signature events within the US market. “We will promote the province’s signature and lifestyle events, travel trade packages and travel media content in an effort to increase visitation to Gauteng from the North American market,” Gaoganediwe says.
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He adds that the planned activities are in line Gauteng’s positioning as a vibrant, urban vibe big-city region that offers shopping, heritage and adventure experiences. To this end, the Gauteng Tourism has organised a collaborative activation on the sideline of the NY Times Travel Show with Joburg Tourism focusing on music tourism and urban city.
Another objective of the New York trip is to initiate collaborations with various US-based parties. The Gauteng Tourism team is discussing partnerships with sister agencies such as the New York Tourism Organisation, and collaborations between the Soweto and the New York marathons and New York and Johannesburg fashion weeks.
Gauteng Tourism, Gaoganediwe adds, hopes to formalise an international media partnership with NY Times Travel, the main title sponsor of the show. “The publication has over over the recent years taken a keen editorial interest in our destination and Johannesburg-Maboneng in particular.
“With New York serving as the central hub and pilgrimage site of all the global influential people, the stage is set for the destination’s sales and marketing team to take advantage.”
NY Times Travel show is North America’s biggest and must exhibit and participate travel show. It brings together thousands of travel trade experts, media and destination marketing organisations. Its travel industry conference, which runs parallel to the show, is a must attend and is a very informative platform anchored by expects in the industry and some of the authoritative influencers in the travel industry space.
