Excellent Learning Experiences

Posted on November 25, 2009

As part of the honours studies in Tourism Management, the students, supported by their lecturers, were actively involved in analysing the tourism opportunities and challenges for the Overberg Region of the Western Cape. Based on key development and trends, as well as lessons from best-practice destinations, the students proposed tourism strategies for the future.

The project included a field visit to the region during the week of 6 to 9 October 2009. During the field-visit they firstly visited Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the umbrella destination marketing organization for the Western Cape, to gain a holistic overview of the marketing of the Province. Thereafter they visited various towns and attractions in the Overberg to experience the destination first-hand and to have discussions with key tourism stakeholders in the region. On Friday, 9 October, they presented their tentative findings to key stakeholders at an interactive tourism forum which was held in the Overberg.

Together with providing excellent learning experiences for the students and staff, the programme also aimed to assist stakeholders in the Overberg Region to capitalize on their tremendous tourism resources, which include a wide spectrum of coastal offerings; special ecotourism and adventure activities; and authentic cultural and cuisine experiences.

The key themes that the students focused on were:

  • The branding and competitive positioning of the Overberg in the tourism marketplace.
  • To develop and package ecotourism and adventure experiences as key elements of the Overberg’s destination marketing strategy.
  • To develop and package the cultural heritage and cuisine (with the focus on authentic local food) experiences as key elements of the Overberg’s destination marketing strategy.
  • To leverage events and festivals as key elements of the Overberg’s destination marketing strategy.
  • Strategic perspectives on the Overberg’s hospitality offerings, as a key element of the Overberg “experience”.
  • To identify and evaluate e-marketing and relevant social networking marketing channels and tools to enhance the competitiveness of the Overberg.

According to Prof Ernie Heath, Head of the Department of Tourism Management, the project, as well as previous projects of this nature, have proved to be extremely successful and have not only provided invaluable experience to students, but have also provided major benefits to participating destinations and industry stakeholders.

For further information regarding this project, the following persons can be contacted:

Prof E Heath
Tel. 012 420 4000
Email: [email protected]

 

Dr Felicite Fairer-Wessels
Tel. 012 420 3955
Email: [email protected]

Mr Cyril Francis
Tel. 012 420 3956
Email: [email protected]

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