Tencent Helps Bolster Chinese Tourism to South Africa

           Tencent Holdings Limited ("Tencent"), a leading provider of internet value added services in China, today announced its collaboration with the South African Tourism Beijing Office (SA Tourism) to entice more Chinese tourists into visiting South Africa.

          In 2018, the spend from Chinese tourists in South Africa increased 69% from R1.4bn to R2.4bn. Annual visitor numbers are now nearly 100,000 and length of stay increased from 7 to 11 days since 2017 to 2018[1].

          The collaboration will span over two years and aims to position South Africa as one of the Chinese travellers' preferred tourism destinations through digital marketing campaigns on WeChat and other platforms within the Tencent ecosystem. Tencent will also assist SA Tourism with a knowledge transfer programme on best practices for destination development, and will advise SA Tourism on how South Africa can accelerate the implementation of WeChat Pay for Chinese travellers visiting South Africa. Tencent will also advise SA Tourism on best practices in Chinese visitor experience by making use of QR codes.

          Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, Minister of Tourism, South Africa, was present during the signing of the strategic co-operation agreement and said, "South Africa is open for business and remains an appealing destination for Chinese travellers, offering abundant, diverse, world-class, accredited attractions supported by transport, services and communications infrastructure that competes with the best in the world. China is South Africa's largest trading partner. I am pleased that, together with Tencent, South African Tourism China is laying a solid foundation for growth in visitor arrivals from China to South Africa."

          "This strategic co-operation agreement is one of many initiatives developed by the South African Tourism office in China to increase Chinese arrivals to South Africa. I am pleased to see progress being made through our collective efforts to get South Africa China-ready," she added.

          Norman Tam, General Manager of Tencent International Business Group (IBG), said, "We are excited about collaborating with SA Tourism, further strengthening the relationship between China and South Africa. We look forward to supporting SA Tourism with our innovative and unique platforms, as well as providing them valuable insight about Chinese consumers in order to enrich their travel experience. With Tencent's services and technologies, Chinese travellers will be able to enjoy and appreciate their trips across South Africa even more."

          South Africa is a beautiful country, with many rich experiences awaiting Chinese visitors. This year, South African Tourism launched its theme for 2019 in the China market, Wild Authentic South Africa, with a goal to make Chinese visitors aware that South Africa is a destination where they can experience land safaris (Big 5 animals) and ocean safaris (whales, sharks and penguins) in one convenient destination.

          In his State of the Nation Address earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa re-affirmed the tourism sector as being crucial for the future of South Africa and said that the country is looking to double its international tourist arrivals from 10.5 to 21 million by 2030. Therefore, China will play a significant part in South Africa's tourism arrivals.

          With more than 1 billion monthly active user accounts, WeChat and Weixin offer an integrated platform that raises brand awareness among Chinese travellers. With the help of SA Tourism's influence and network in South Africa, Tencent IBG will enable SA Tourism to optimise its return on media investments and reach out to key target audience segments. Tencent also provides support to other stakeholders in formulating in-market solutions that are customised to fit specific brand objectives.

          [1] Business Report, South Africa, 2018