Case Example: The Drakensberg Experience – KZN
The Drakensberg Experience managed to raise fund from the N3 Toll Concession Company to print 10,000 brochures. The brochure includes details on all the participants on the route and displays it on a map for ease of use by visitors.

The Route Forum realized that they won’t be able to always raise funds to print brochures, so they decided to sell the brochures at R10 a piece. In this way they are able to generate their own funds to print more of the brochures.
The forum also made sure that the brochures are distributed out side of their area.Two thousand of the brochures were placed at OR Tambo and Durban International Airport. Brochures are also being distributed at eight tourism nodes along the N3 highway from Johannesburg to Durban.

The Southern Overberg Fynbos Route started a Fynbos Forum that is part of the route. Participants and other community members are able to join the forum at a fee. They couple their forum meetings with interesting talks and excursions to attractions in the area. As a result their meetings are well attended and their ‘Friends of the Fynbos Forum’ membership is growing every year. They keep their members informed by circulating newsletters such as the one below.

Appropriately the Fynbos Ecotourism Forum (FEF) is starting the year with the Annual General Meeting (AGM) followed by a workshop with the theme Our Marine Environment on Wednesday, 25 March at the conference hall of the Gansbaai Tourism Bureau, at 09:30. As usual, this promise to be very interesting.  The committee has strived to involve knowledgeable people from our vicinity and once again they were very obliging. Soos gewoonlik word die Algemene jaarvergadering (AJV) eers afgehandel en aangesien die tydrowende sake, soos die grondwet, reeds afgehandel is, sal die gedeelte van die program nie baie tyd in beslag neem nie. Beide die werkswinkel en die AJV is oop vir almal wat belangstel om dit by te woon.Die AJV is ook ‘n goeie manier om meer van die FEF en hulle werksaamhede te wete te kom.

We chose the marine theme because the sea has a definite influence on our fynbos environment. It also helps both marine and fynbos ecotourism to realise that all of
the Stanford / Gansbaai area will benefit from working together. Ons Marineomgewing sluit soveel aspekte van die see in dat ons slegs aan drie aspekte daarvan kan aandag gee. Charmaine Beukes van White Shark Projects kom gesels oor die ou groot wit manne wat veral in die omtrek van Dyerseiland woon en waarvoor Gansbaai wêreldwyd bekend is. Almal weet van die groot bewoners van die see, maar soveel van ons is heeltemal onkundig omtrent die interessante klein goedjieswat ons in die poele kry as dit laagwater is. Deidré du Toit was so vriendelik om vir ons ‘n hele praatjie saam te stel op die voorwaarde dat iemand anders dit aanbied.
Sy sal egter teenwoordig wees om seker te maak dat ek die regte feite oordra. At our previous workshop Wilfred Chivell told us about the plight of the penguins on Dyer Island and the Dyer Island Conservation Trust, of which the Faces of Need project is an important part. This project aims to establish nest boxes to mimic natural burrows, because the natural habitat was destroyed by collecting guano over many years.

The FEF committee unanimously decided to sponsor one of these nests and several of the committee members will also privately sponsor nests. We also invite anybody who feel to sponsor a nest, to do this at the workshop. The cost of a nest is R400.00. A member of the Dyer Island Conservation Trust will be present to receive the nest. For more information visit www.dict.org.za

Die keuse van gebakte vis, slaai en vars brood was vanselfsprekend vir middagete en daarna vertrek ons na Gansbaai Hawe waar André Coetzee van Gansbaai Marine ons sal ontvang en ons meer gaan vertel van die Pelagiese visbedryf, die fabriek en’n boel ander onderwerpe. Hier is dus ‘n geleentheid om al die dinge wat jy nog altyd oor die fabriek wou weet, te kom vra. En daar mag dalk net ’n verrassing of twee op die teenwoordiges wag. The cost for the workshop is R60.00 for members and R80.00 for non members. Anybody interested can book, not later than Monday 23 March, with Mariaan at (028)388 0384 / 082 9600

WHAT ARE WE SELLING?

The members of the ATA defined four categories of experiences that are on offer. Each of these experiences consists of products and attractions. In addition we offer accommodation as well.

The following reflects the demographics of each of these categories.

The Adventure Experience

Extreme Adventurer

• Active and young (18-30)
• Live in predominantly urban areas and cities
• Both male and female
• Have access to disposable income – pleasure seeking
• At this point consist mainly of international backpackers
• Internet savvy – they have a web presence with a blog or Facebook profile
• Part of an outdoors activity club e.g. Climbing, Mountain Biking
• Enthusiastic supporters of their interests – they follow their own personal ambitions

Adventurer Seeker

• Adventurer Seeker
•  Generally older than the Extreme Adventurer
• Travel in groups – either as couples or as families
•  Typical activities that might interest them are horse riding, abseiling
•  They would describe “Getaway” magazine
• This would also include small groups
• Corporate Team building
•  They would be loyal regional media supporters – Algoa FM
•  Potentially spread across the nation, currently this group would be drawn from within the region

The Nature Experience

• Varying Target Market – from person looking to escape everyday city-life to those seeking specific experiences for their special interests
• Examples: Birders and Ornithologists, Botanists, Entomologists, photographers and hikers
• Age range from young adult to senior
• Classed as local as well as international tourist
• Reasonably fit, well educated, likely to travel in groups
• Likely to be drawn from local areas or special interest groups who may travel as a society or individual looking for a new experience
• Do extensive prior research on their prospective holiday destinations – gaining knowledge is an important part of their experience, what are they taking away at the end?
• Generally more established, with a higher net worth, seek opportunities to pursue their interest
• Some groups may have disabled members and this needs to be well thought out and included in advertising and ,marketing literature

The Art Experience

•  Generally couples
• Ages 25 upwards
• South African based
•  Connected to local arts
• Inspired by thoughts and observation
• They would probably be magazines like “Country Life”
• Travel extensively, exposed to airline magazines, social media, and other creative inputs such as specialist magazines or membership of arts orientated organisations
• This would be the kind of people who enjoy the finer things in life, for example Top Billing crowd  An opportunity to create an Artist Hive
•  An important group to cater for is children – future investment for future adult tourists

The Heritage Experience

• Area is rich with cultural influences
• German, British Colonial, Xhosa
•  Opportunities to create specific foreign tours around historical events
• Needs specific information accumulated and presented via the Internet – possibility of catching the attention of potential foreign tourists
• Potential for German TV producers The Engine Museum which contains a number of engines
•  The Thomas River Museum which has a collection of Mercedes Benz motor vehicles, historical buildings and a railway station
•  Specialist marketing focus is needed to full exploit the potential of this group
•  E.g. Military historians, military that served in this area, creating synergies between the two interests and helping retrace where they had a presence
•  School and educational groups – High School as well as History Majors from universities

Accommodation

The Route has accommodation ranging from Hotels, Guest Houses and bed and breakfasts at different Tourism Grading Council levels. There are also hostelries to accommodate children’s groups, camping facilities for tents and backpackers are also in development. Essentially all bases are covered up to three star accommodation.

1. NATURE EXPERIENCES

• Bird watching
• Butterflies
• Flora and Fauna
• Forest walks
• Hiking the Amathole trail
  Waterfalls
• Wild Bulb Nursery
• Game Drives

2. ART EXPERIENCES

• Beadwork & Embroidery
• Candle Making
• Ceramics
• Handmade Silver Jewellery
  Painting (oil & water colour)
• Pottery
• Sculpture

3. ADVENTURE EXPERIENCES

• Abseiling
• Archery
• Boat Cruises on Wriggleswade Dam
• Bouldering
  Canoeing on Gubu Dam
•  Fishing (Bass & Trout)
• Horse Trails
• 4 X 4 Trails
  Motorbike Trails
•   Mountain Biking
• Rock Climbing
• Wake Boarding
• Water Skiing
• Parasailing

4. HERITAGE EXPERIENCES

• Amathola Mountain Lodge at Cata near Keiskammahoek
• Bushman Rock Art
• Engine Museum
•   Mgwali Cultural Village
• Old Thomas River Historical Village
• Township Tours
• Sandile Route

5. CULINARY EXPERIENCES

• Eagles Ridge Country House
• Blue Plumbago
• Engine Museum
• Mgwali Cultural Village
•  Old Thomas River Historical Village
• Impressions Coffee Shop

6. ACCOMMODATION

•   Bed & Breakfast
• Hotel
• Self Catering
•   Camping & Caravan Site
•   Backpackers

Case Example: Target marketing for the Xairu Blue Crane Route

The Xairu Blue Crane Route is located in the Western Cape and has the Blue Crane as its flagship feature. If the route wants to target people that will be interested in seeing the Blue Crane in its natural environment, they will  have to do target marketing.

Market segmentation:

Start asking questions about who would potentially be interested in seeing Blue Cranes and list their characteristics. The point of departure here would be that these people are most likely to be bird watchers or nature lovers. By doing a quick internet search for “bird watchers market profile” the following was extracted:

International Tourist Profile:

Age: the international markets are generally older, but include a general broader range of ages than the domestic bird watching markets

Occupation: As with the Australian market, international markets tend to be educated and affluent, however, as with age, there is a broader range of occupations and incomes than the Australian market. Almost 75% of USA birdwatchers had achieved degree levels education or greater

This already provides some useful information to start building a profile of the type of visitors you want to target. We now know that these people tend to be older, are educated, members of bird clubs and the major markets are the UK, Europe and the US

The next step would be to start thinking of how these people can be targeted. Brainstorm this in a Route Forum meeting. Here are some ideas:

1. Target bird clubs in South Africa and the other source markets mentioned

Once again, an internet search for “bird clubs” can provide some good results. The following was extracted from a document found on the internet

A. Birdlife South Africa branches(as at June 2007)
Name                                  Chairman             Contact Tel         E-mail
EASTERN CAPE
Birdlife Border                     Ian Field             (043)7404211      margieandian@mweb.co.za
Birdlife Eastern Cape         Ken Munro         (041)3973201      jenken@agnet.co.za

This is useful information, as you already have names and contact details of people from the contact list that can help to market the Blue Crane Route. Now is the time to contact people we need to start communicating with.

2. Write a press release or route summary

To create interest among the members of these bird clubs, we need to compile a document that tells them about the route and how they can find more information (See Annexure F for steps in writing a press release). Important information to include in this document are:

• Location
• Contact details (include the link to the route on the Open Africa website i.e. http://www.openafrica.org/route/xairu-blue-crane-route
• Accessibility (Can the area be visited at all times of the year? Can you only see the Blue Cranes a certain time of year?

Ask the main contact of each of the bird clubs to distribute the information to their members

3. Follow up

3. Follow up
Now that you have made contact and sent out the relevant information, make sure to follow up by contacting the relevant person to find out if they received the document and if there are any questions relating to it. If people contact you about the document start compiling a database with their names and contact details. This can be used later to send them updates or newsletters on the route’s activities. These steps can be followed for other groups you would like to target. As can be seen from the example above, this is an effective way to start communicating with potential visitors on your route.

THE OPEN AFRICA RICHTERSVELD ROUTE

VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION

1. Name

A group of tourism stakeholders came together in January 2008 at a meeting in Eksteenfontein. A follow-up meeting was held on 21 April 2008, where it was decided by an elected forum of representatives to establish a Tourism Forum. The decision was taken to name this Forum the Open Africa Richtersveld Route, hereafter referred to as OARR.

2. Legal status

2.1 The Association is and shall continue to be a distinct and separate legal entity and body corporate, with the power to acquire, to hold and alienate property of every description whatsoever, and with the capacity to acquire rights and obligations and having perpetual succession.

2.2 All actions or suits, proceedings at law or any arbitration shall be brought by or against the association and to sign all such documents and to take all such steps as may be necessary in connection with any such proceedings.

3. A non-profit organisation

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein contained:

3.1 The association is not formed and does not exist for the purpose of carrying on any business that has for its object the acquisition of gain by the association or its individual members.

3.2 The income and assets of the association shall be applied solely for investment and for the promotion of the objects for which it is established.

3.3 No part of the income or assets of the Association shall be paid, directly or indirectly, by way of dividend, donation or otherwise, to any person.

3.4 The association shall not be entitled to carry on any trading or other profit- making activities or participate in any business, profession or occupation carried on by any of its members or provide to any of its members financial assistance or any premises or continuous services or facilities for the purpose of carrying on any business, profession or occupation.

4. Rights of members

4.1 Membership of the association does not and shall not give any member a right to any of the moneys, property or assets of the association but only confers upon such members the privilege of membership subject to charges and reasonable restrictions as the committee may from time to time impose and subject to the by-laws in force for the time being.

4.2 A member whose application for membership has been accepted shall be bound by the constitution and rules of the association, which are in force, or which may be altered and amended and in force at any future time. No person shall be absolved from the effect and application of the constitution or rules, by reason that they have not received a copy thereof.

5. Liability of members

The liability of members is limited to the amount of unpaid subscriptions or other moneys owing by them to the association.

6. Area

6.1 OARR shall collect contributions and carry on business in the Northern Cape – South Africa

6.2 The Head Office of the OARR project shall be registered in the Port Nolloth Magisterial Area or any other area as deemed necessary from time to time.

7.Objectives

WHEREAS OARR’S PURPOSE IS

7.1 to promote all tourism products and activities in the Richtersveld area for the benefit of all

7.2 to support, and encourage, and transfer skills from experienced to emerging entrepreneurs

7.3 to collectively promote the interests of all members

7.4. to conserve and protect the cultural heritage of the Richtersveld’s people

7.5 set and maintain good standards which all OARR members need to upold

7.6 to promote the conservation and protection of the areas unique biodiversity

7.7. to generally give effect to any actions necessary of expedient to achieve the objectives of the association

7.8 to generally contribute to job creation in the Tourism Industry

8. Powers and duties of route forum

The powers and duties of the Route Forum shall be

8.1 To implement and generally give effect to the objectives, aims and decision pertaining to the management of the association.

8.2 To determine any business to be considered at the Annual General Meeting or any other general meeting.

8.3 To prepare an Annual General Report and Financial Statements of the affairs of the route for submission to the Annual General Meeting.

8.4 To engage and dismiss staff or consultants

8.5 To transact the business of the route

The Route Forum may in its sole discretion delegate any of the above powers and duties

9. Structure

The structure of OARR will comprise of

9.1 An elected Route Forum, which will continue to exist, notwithstanding any changes in terms of office bearers, consisting of the following:

Chairperson

Vice-chairperson

Secretary

Treasurer

Member without portfolio, acting as additional member to stand in for any of other management members if they cannot be present.

9.2 The Route Forum as the governing body shall be elected at an Annual General Meeting and serve for two years.

9.3 Any vacancy of the Route Forum may be filled by the remaining members co- opting such members, as may be necessary, which shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.

9.4 Separate from the elected management structure, there will be Representatives for every Town/Village in the Route (Lekkersing, Eksteenfontein, Sanddrift, Alexander Bay, Kuboes, Vioolsdrift, and Steinkopf). These persons will ensure communication to the deep rural towns of the Route. These representatives could be persons from the municipal offices who could be communicated with easily, and who has the means to put up notices on communal notice boards. This person can also be someone else with the capability and means to deal with this function, who has an interest in promoting the Tourism Industry, and is willing to assist with the task at hand.

10. Membership

Members wishing to join OARR must be

– Involved in the tourism industry in the Richtersveld;

– Provide a service (directly or indirectly) to the tourism industry

10.1 New members must apply to the Route Forum of OARR and will be accepted as an associate member at a membership meeting held by the Executive for a trial period of 6 months and be requested to show commitment an meet the standards of OARR, before being elected a full member of OARR.

10.2 The new associate member will be required to pay half of the annual subscription upon registration as an associate member and will be required to pay the balance of the annual subscription upon being elected as a full member when an if such a fee applies.

10.3 If the associate member is not given full membership of OARR for reasons give above – there will be no refund of the associate’s registration fee

11.Office bearers

11.1. A Chairperson

11.2. A Vice Chairperson whom in the absence of the Chairperson, unless otherwise determined in the meeting concerned be the Chairperson at any General Meeting or other meeting

11.3. A Treasurer who shall be responsible for the management of the route’s assets and membership fees and the implementation of the route’s decisions and policies in this regard and, who shall in the absence of the Chairperson and the Depute Chairperson preside as Chairperson at the General or Route Forum meetings, unless otherwise determined by the meeting concerned.

11.4. A Secretary who shall perform the normal functions of an organisational secretary and shall as such implement the route’s policies and decisions not otherwise provided for.

11.5. In addition there shall be a fifth member elected to the Route Forum to assist in the objectives of the OARR and who can, only if so designated by the office bearers above, act in an Executive capacity in the absence of an office bearer at a general meeting.

12. Convening of meetings

12.1. The Route Forum shall meet at least twice annually at such times and venues as it,or the Chairperson, failing whom, the Depute Chairperson, to determine.

12.2 The Management committee must hold at least two ordinary meetings each year.

12.3 The Chairperson, or two members of the Committee, can call a special meeting if they want to, but they must let the other management committee members know the date of the proposed meeting not less than 21 days before it is due to take place. They must also tell the other members of the committee which issues will be discussed at the meeting. If, however one of the matters to be discussed is to appoint a new management committee member, then those calling the meeting, must give the other committee members not less than 30 days notice.

12.4. The chairperson shall act as the chairperson of the management committee.

12.5 If the chairperson does not attend a meeting, then members of the committee who are present, choose which one of them will chair that meeting. This must be done before a meeting starts

12.6 There shall be a quorum whenever such a meeting is held

12.7 If the management committee thinks it is necessary, then it can decide to set up one or more sub-committees. It may decide to do this to get some work done quickly. It may want a sub-committee to do an inquiry, for example. There must be at least three people on a sub-committee. The sub-committee must report back to the management committee on its activities. It should do this regularly.

12.8 Minutes of all meetings must be kept safely and always be on hand for members to consult.

13. Proceedings of meetings

13.1. Unless otherwise specified or otherwise determined by the meeting concerned, all proceedings at meetings (including General Meetings, and Membership Meetings) shall be conducted with normal practices.

13.2. All motions shall be proposed and seconded.

13.3. Voting, unless a ballot is demanded either by a member or by sensitive circumstances, shall be a show of hands and a simple majority shall carry motions, and each member shall be entitled to one vote only on each motion.

13.4. Should there be an equality of votes the Chairperson shall have the casting vote.

13.5. Decisions of the forum shall be made by consensus wherever reasonably possible. If the Forum cannot reach consensus on a particular issue, it shall be reconsidered at the next meeting, unless it concerns a matter referred to in clause 10.7

13.6. If consensus is still not reached on a matter deferred from an earlier meeting in accordance with clause 10.5, a decision may be made by a two-thirds majority of the votes of the members present and voting either in person or by proxy.

13.7. If consensus cannot be reached on a matter and in the opinion of the Chairperson there are compelling reasons why it must be decided before the next meeting, the decision may be made by a two-thirds majority of the votes of the members present and voting either in person or by proxy.

14. Annual general meeting

The Annual General Meeting shall be held not later than three months after the end of the Route’s financial year which shall be July 01 – June 30th in each year, and shall be at such times and venue as the annual General Meeting or Chairperson, failing whom the Deputy Chairperson may determine.

15. Business to be transacted at annual meeting

Annual General Meetings shall consider, amongst other things, the following

15.1. The Annual Report and Financial Statements of the forum

15.2. the election of the Route Forum

15.3. The appointment of auditors or consultants and the fixing of their payment

15.4. All motions which may be properly proposed and other business, which may arise.

15.5. Nomination and election of new members, which Includes election of associate members and determination of full membership status

15.6. Determines remuneration for membership and arrangements for the collection thereof.

15.7. Determines conditions of membership

15.8. Attends to all motions which may be properly proposed regarding membership and any business or standards related to membership which may arise

16. Other meetings

16.1. Disciplinary Meetings

The Route Forum may call a disciplinary meeting in the following circumstances:

16.1.1. Should it be necessary to discipline any member who may be jeopardising the reputation of OARR in any manner or failing to upholding the standards of OARR

16.1.2. Should any Route Forum member not be upholding the duties of his/her position or the required activities of his/her office.

16.1.3. Set disciplinary procedures, policies and circumstances

17. Motions at meetings

Each member may propose motions by delivering written notice to the offices (or Secretary) of the route at least 14 days before the meeting, or, if there is short notice of such meeting, a lesser period as the Chairperson (failing whom the Depute chairperson) or the Chairperson of that particular meeting (if other than the Chairperson of OARR) may determine.

18. Quorum

A quorum at a Route Forum meeting, or general meeting shall be 2/3 of the Route Forum present either in person, or by proxy. The Forum being the management committee plus at least one representative of each town on the Route.

19. Standing and sub-committees

A General Meeting of the Route Forum may at any time appoint committees with such terms of reference as may be considered desirable.

20. Amendment of constitution

Any provision of this constitution may be amended by at least a 2/3 vote of the Route Forum provided 14 days notice has been given in writing of any such proposal.

21. Misconduct of members

A member of the association shall be guilty of misconduct should he/she in the opinion of the Committee:

21.1.1. commit any breach of the this constitution or the rules of the association

21.1.2. be guilty of any improper conduct

21.1.3. fail to make payment of any money due to the association after due notice

21.1.4. be guilty of conduct in any way offensive to members or to the committee

21.1.5. introduce into the association or any meeting any person whose presence therein shall be prejudicial to the interests and reputation of the Association as a whole

21.1.6. be guilty of behaving in a manner unbecoming a member of the association or prejudicial to the interests and reputation of the Association

21.2. The hearing and investigation of any complaint as to the conduct of a member and the procedure to be adopted in connection herewith, shall be the discretion of the committee. The member under investigation must be informed, by posting a registered letter to his registered address. Such a member must be afforded the opportunity to state his case, either in writing, or in such a manner as decided on by the Committee.

21.3. The committee, after the investigation, shall have the power to expel such a member, who shall be ineligible for re-election, or deprive such a member of any or all the rights, benefits and privileges of his membership during such a time or period as the committee may deem fit for.

21.4. Any member who has been expelled or called upon to resign or otherwise dealt with, shall have the right to appeal, in writing, against the decision of the committee. His appeal will be held at a special general meeting.

22. Interpretation

22.1. Where the context otherwise requires, singular words shall be deemed to import the plural, and vica verca, and the masculaine gender shall be deemed to include the feminine and vica verca.

22.2. In case of bona fida doubt as to the meaning and interpretation of any of the rules of the Association, or in connection with any other matter whatsoever, the committee for the time being which rules thereon shall be the arbiter and its decision shall be binding upon the members, subject to any resolution of a general meeting of the association thereon.

23. Members

Members shall from time to time communicate their adresses, and other contact detail if any changes occur, to the committee to update this information where relevant.

24. General

24.1 A Copy of the rules of the Association shall be available for inspection by members.

24.2 The Organisations financial transactions shall be conducted by means of a banking account, which is held at FNB, Port Nolloth.

24.3 The Organisations financial year, ends on the 31st of June

25. Indemnity

Every member officer or servant of the association shall be indemnified by the association against all losses, and expenses which he may occur or become liable for by reason of any act or thing done by him as such in the discharge of his duties, unless the loss in question is caused by his gross negligence, dishonesty or breach of trust.

26. Dissolution

26.1 OARR, subject to such conditions at which a Special General Meeting may determine, may be dissolved by a Resolution passed by not less than 2/3 of the Route Forum members present at such meeting, which meeting shall be called specifically for the purposes concerned and not less than 14 days written notice specifying in detail the prupose for the meeting and the reasons for the proposed dissolution.

26.2 If upon dissolution of OARR any assets that remain after all debts and liablities have been satisfied, such assets shall not be paid or distributed amongst its members, but shall be donated to such other organizations (preferably having similar objectives) who are authorized to collect contributions

26.3 In terms of the Fund Raising Act of 1978, as may be decided either by the members at a Special General Meeting at which it will be decided to dissolve the route (OARR) or, in default of such decision, by the Director of fund Raising.

THIS DONE AND SIGNED AT _________________________________ON

THE___________DAY OF__________________________________2011

____________________________ ______________________________

CHAIRPERSON VICE-CHAIRPERSON

_____________________________

SECRETARY

Keimoes Arts & Crafts Co-operative

This Flow Canvas One-Page Plan was developed at the Open Africa Route Development workshop, held in Keimoes in August 2013.

Examples of the Flow Canvas One-Page Plan:

KIDeez

Examples of the Flow Canvas One-Page Plan:

ReadRight

This case study provides examples of Travel Shows and Exhibitions including how collaborations between various institutions can help in decreasing the burden of cost on the route.

This case study should be read with the Guide: How Do We Attend Travel Shows.

Example 1: Mbodla Eco-heritage Route – Eastern Cape The Mbodla Route formed a relationship with the Amathole District Municipality who in turn funded the route’s attendance at the Tourism Indaba in Durban. The route has also been included in their local municipality’s Local Economic Development Plan which meant that money has been set aside in their next budget to support the route.

Example 2: The Drakensberg Route Launch The Drakensberg Route was launched at a function in Estcourt in August 2008. The route launch coincided with the annual Putu Festival in Estcourt. The Umtshezi Municipality agreed to fund the launch of the route as part of the weekend’s festivities. The launch was a great success with over a hundred delegates attending.

Apart from building relationships with municipalities, provincial tourism authorities are also important partners in the marketing of your route. Provincial tourism websites are aimed at marketing the province and will most likely be interested in promoting the route. Contact your tourism authority and ask them what they require for a route to be promoted on their site.

Invite the provincial authorities on a familiarisation tour of the route. Ask them if they can send representatives from the surrounding tourism offices to also learn more about the route.

Travel Shows:

There are numerous travel shows both in South Africa and abroad that is worthwhile attending. The most popular among the South African shows is the Tourism Indaba held in Durban.  The Indaba provides one of the best opportunities to network with tourism operators from all over Africa and abroad. It is a good opportunity to connect with tour operators, tourism authorities and other stakeholders.

Apart from bigger shows such as Indaba and the Getaway Show, routes have also made use of local shows and festivals to promote themselves. Try and find out if there are any shows or festivals in your region that could be used to promote the route.

Example 3: Mvelelo Gateway Show (28 – 30 August, 2008) 

Open Africa assisted routes near Makhado/Louis Trichardt to attend the Mvelelo Northern Gateway. While the show is relatively small compared to Indaba and Getaway, it was a good opportunity for local routes to gain exposure at a minimal cost. Routes present exhibited arts and crafts products from their area. Routes that attended the show were:

• Hlanganani
• Ribolla
• Seraki
• Blouberg