The year is well underway and tourism on the KZN South Coast continues to improve. While official statistics on the festive season are still to be released by Tourism KZN, it appears that the Ugu District remains a key destination over the festive season. Reports from our larger establishments indicated 100% occupancy rates over the peak week, with our Blue Flag beaches undoubtedly a major drawcard.

We now turn our attention to the Easter holiday, another important date on the tourism calendar for the KZN South Coast. Our marketing, public relations, and advertising campaigns continue to highlight our Blue Flag beaches, alongside our many other unique selling points. World-class dive sites, gorges, and nature reserves found here meet the needs of the modern adventure traveller, with the development of new tourism offerings such as Mission Tourism, the Weza Hiking Trail, the Beach-to-Beach Adventure Hike, and the Umzumbe River Trail ensuring we remain a first-choice destination.

While challenges remain, the year ahead holds a lot of promise for the tourism sector. The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer indicates international tourism ended 2023 at 88% of pre-pandemic levels. We’re well on the road to recovery, with people looking to travel, to enjoy new experiences, and to connect with the natural world. We will continue to develop our tourism assets to meet this need and to grow tourism on the KZN South Coast.

Read on to find out what the South Coast Tourism & Investment Enterprise (SCTIE) team has been busy with this quarter.

Southern Explorer Collaboration

Celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year, the Southern Explorer remains a pivotal guide to all our tourism offerings on the KZN South Coast. This year, we are collaborating with them by highlighting key destination offerings via the various tour routes. We have already shown support for The Wellness Way, the country’s first wellness travel route, launched by Odyssey Magazine and The Southern Explorer at the end of 2023. Plans are also in place to partner with The Southern Explorer on attending Africa’s Travel Indaba taking place at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre (Durban ICC) from 14 to 16 May.

Marketing efforts on the KZN South Coast continue to resonate with travellers, with our key tourism assets highlighted domestically and to international audiences.

Marketing Campaign Update

The annual campaign message


‘Uncover Adventure’


is a way to showcase our unique hinterland, rural tourism, extreme adventure, and heritage tourism offerings. This quarter, the theme has been paired with our


‘Breakaway’


marketing campaign related to Valentine’s Day, MICE and business tourism, as well as Easter holiday messaging. This encourages a temporary escape from the daily routine, a


‘breakaway’


to unwind, recharge, and enjoy a change of scenery.

Tourism Destination Video

We are excited to launch our latest tourism destination video which will promote the KZN South Coast widely via social media. This 3-minute video captures our many tourism offerings, including accommodation, adventure, golf, beaches, agri tourism, culture, waterfalls, Dezzi Raceway, and more. Check out the video




here




.

Our media relations remain strong through a dedicated PR campaign, with our


‘Uncover Adventure’


and


‘Breakaway’


themes gaining exposure through dedicated press releases. Continued media monitoring allows us to engage directly with media on any challenges facing tourism marketing, and attend to media queries that provide positive exposure for the KZN South Coast.

We have continued to drive our advertising exposure via digital platforms, with


‘Uncover Adventure’


and


‘Breakaway’


messaging shared on




Instagram




,




Facebook




,




X




(formerly Twitter), and




LinkedIn




. According to Smart Insights, 62.3% of the global population uses social media, making it a highly impactful form of advertising. Our Easter-related content posted on these platforms highlighted our family outings, restaurants, Ntelezi Msani Heritage Centre, and Mission Tourism.

Our revamped website and active social media platforms engage existing and new followers daily. Digital marketing provides visitors with real-time information directly to their tablets or smartphones and encourages direct engagement to better inform our communication and marketing efforts.

Social Media

Website

We’ve maintained our assertive approach to brand awareness and social media campaigns following the festive season surge. Increased frequency of published content, operator event sharing, and showcasing specials have resulted in substantial and positive cross-platform engagement.

Our ongoing commitment to our




tourism website




has led to more than 100 updates and two dozen software and plugin enhancements since 12 December 2023. The




‘Specials & More’




page has expanded significantly, boosting our establishments online presence and strengthening our social media backlinking.

Push Notifications

Explore the KZN South Coast app

Nearly 18 distinct Push Notifications – including multimedia, links, events, blogs, and key milestones – are consistently shared with tourism establishments, and stakeholders.

Our app undergoes daily updates through a single Content Management System (CMS). This ensures continuous growth – alongside the 100 changes to the website.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Our SEO efforts have significantly boosted our website traffic and engagement with our online platforms. By optimising our content with relevant articles tailored to search engine algorithms and user intent, we have seen notable improvements in our organic search rankings and visibility.

Database Management

Event Guide

Due to the overwhelming response we had to the last Push Notification and internal mailer sent to tourism establishments requesting their listing updates, we have opted to send out POPI-compliant communication once a month.

We continue to update our digital




‘Events’




calendar with all local happenings. This is an effective way to provide our local tourism establishments with exposure while directing our visitors to exactly what’s happening, where on the KZN South Coast at any time.