Self Reliance Programme

Implementation of the VISITAFRICA.TRAVEL platform will mean that every African country immediately becomes competitive in the digital market place for tourism products and services, enabling consumers and travel intermediaries to have DIRECT access to destination and supplier information in a manner to easily plan and book online.  This will channel an additional +30% of retail margin directly to the destination and significantly reduce the over-reliance on external third parties & intermediaries. Bringing African tourism products and services into the global travel theatre in this way will contribute to the alleviation of poverty and the stimulation of economic development, balancing growth with protection of national resources and the environment.

 

The IX Tourism Services Platform is designed as a practical intervention programme to realign this wide gap by providing all destination suppliers with a collaborative digital tourism system at a grass roots level.

 

We hope this practical intervention programme will help build a world free from exploitation in which all parties involved in tourism benefit equitably and in which relationships between industry, tourists and host communities are based on trust and respect and in which all may profit.

 

The lead up to FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa provided a particular opportunity for countries and the tourism industry to showcase their products through implementation of the platform.  Once installed, every African Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) with the National Tourism Authority and Ministry responsible for Tourism will be able to create, collaborate, aggregate and distribute digital content to the global markets.

 

The VISITAFRICA platform will enable each country and all suppliers- hotels, recreation, ground services, transport and activity providers to reach consumers and travel agents everywhere for browsing, planning, selecting, packaging accommodation with travel services online.;

1 Tourism Destination Management and Promotion (integrated destination portal, online promotion, etc)

2 Building Tourism Capacity and Capability (training, support for small providers)

3 Destination Stewardship (sustainable tourism)

4 Tourism Facilitation and Security (E-Visa/E-Passport/SOS/Resilience).