Province kick-starts domestic tourism plan

Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) activated its domestic tourism campaign at Newcastle Mall at the weekend.

Acting General Manager of Marketing, Keith Matthews provided details and insight into this provincial endeavour, titled DO KZN, at a small function on Saturday afternoon.

ALSO READ: We Do Tourism: Promoting the tourist appeal of Newcastle

The campaign was initially launched during Tourism Month in September 2017.

Explaining TKZN’s strategic approach, Matthews emphasised the notion that tourism is everyone’s business, from a filling station to a hotel.

“Each interaction a tourist has counts toward their impression of a place.”

DO KZN aimed to use the province’s wide number of activities and experiences to appeal to a wider spectrum of people, demographics and expenditures.

Matthews said it was about tourists experiencing KZN in their own way.

TKZN currently works through partners in tourism to offer potential visitors tailored packages encompassing accommodation, activities and attractions.

At present, there are few options available in Newcastle.

READ NOW: WATCH: Newcastle’s tourism boosted through SABC 2

Through a primarily digital campaign (approximately 85 per cent online), Matthews said the campaign was about communicating to the right audience at the right time.

“We are targeting a wide number of markets covering heritage, luxury, shopping, outdoors and everything between.”

Central to this campaign are structured packages tailored for a lifestyle or life cycle, which Matthews said involved a modular systematic approach.

This would carry over a three-year period.

“DO KZN is a starting place for people who want to come to KZN, but aren’t sure what to do. We are mandated to cover demographic spread, instead of just having everyone come to Durban.”

Also remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

Remember to read our WhatsApp disclaimer.

You can also email our offices on Reveshni Douglas at reveshni@caxton.co.za or newsun@caxton.co.za Bruce Douglas at Newed2@caxton.co.za Tersia Gopi at newed@caxton.co.za Zianne Leibrandt at ncschools@caxton.co.za