Joint tourism marketing agreement initiated

Originally published by South Africa-The Good News:

Cape Town Tourism, Johannesburg Tourism and Durban Tourism met at the 2011 Tourism Indaba this weekend to initiate a joint marketing agreement between the three cities. These cities are South Africa's economic and tourism hot spots and the marketing agreement will see them collaborate to maximize tourism development and marketing.

The three organizations agree that cities are the lead brands for countries. Cities are globally recognized as the window through which countries are viewed and are described as a country's most durable assets. Cities have history, heritage that has stood the test of time as well as promising developmental futures.

The joint agreement is the outcome of the three cities reassessing strategies and committing to go beyond the tradition to challenge compartmentalized marketing thinking. "Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban tell three very different and unique but complementary stories. I strongly believe that we add value to each other's leisure and business tourism offering and I think that this will also go a long way towards providing the prospective international traveller with a seamless impression of destination South Africa. The time has come for us to use creative and innovative ways to maximize the domestic and international leisure as well as business tourism potential, for all three cities," says Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, CEO of Cape Town Tourism.

Lindiwe Kwele, CEO of Johannesburg Tourism added: "All three cities have the confidence to define themselves in the minds of out markets. Johannesburg is a frontier city and personifies urban chic, achievement and a sophisticated energy. Duban is diverse, with a leading port city that exemplifies warmth and tradition. Cape Town is a city of inspiration, hope and freedom with a rich cosmopolitan culture set against the backdrop of unprecedented natural beauty."

The joint marketing forum will see high-level collaboration on marketing and branding initiatives and knowledge exchange on an executive level. The will look at improved city branding and how the unique offering of all three cities are being presented and packaged to both domestic and international travelers.

Philip Sithole of the Kwini Municipality's Business Support and Tourism concluded: "One of the secrets of a winning destination is for cities to realize that we are brands; that we should harness our assets. Positive perception, unique identities, authentic experiences and a powerful story is the armory of a successful city brand. The joint marketing agreement is a formal recognition of our synergies and will go a long way to present a conducive and integrated city tourism experience for both demestic and international travellers."