QUARTERLY MANAGEMENT
REPORT TO CITY OF CAPE TOWN
January – March 2014
Enver Duminy – Chief Executive Officer
0
PURPOSE OF REPORT
The purpose of this report is to provide information on the financial performance of the Grant-inAid provided to Cape Town Tourism (CTT) by the City of Cape Town (CoCT) for the quarter ending
31 March 2014 for Visitor Services, Tourism Marketing and Special City Projects.
FOR INFORMATION / NOTING ONLY
This report is submitted to the CoCT Tourism Directorate for information; in terms of the
Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) governed by the Municipal Finance Management Agreement
Act, 2003 (Act 56 of 2003) and Annexed Service Schedules between CoCT and CTT for the agreed
period of 01 July 2013 to 30 June 2014. As contracted, CTT will provide the City with monthly
financial reports reflecting CTT’s performance in terms of this agreement; however the Directorate
has requested an up-to-date report for quarterly tranche funding payment to be submitted along
with our invoice.
1
Table of Contents
PURPOSE OF REPORT ............................................................................................................................. 1
FOR INFORMATION / NOTING ONLY...................................................................................................... 1
1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 4
2.
FINANCIAL REPORT ........................................................................................................................ 6
A.
Income ............................................................................................................................................ 6
B.
Expenditure..................................................................................................................................... 6
C.
Liquidity .......................................................................................................................................... 7
D.
Graphs ............................................................................................................................................ 8
3.
HUMAN RESOURCES .................................................................................................................... 10
A.
Workforce movements ................................................................................................................. 10
B.
Payroll & Leave ............................................................................................................................. 10
C.
Employee Wellness ....................................................................................................................... 10
D.
Training and Development ........................................................................................................... 10
E.
Work Based Learning Programme ............................................................................................... 11
F.
Employment Equity....................................................................................................................... 11
G.
HR Strategy ................................................................................................................................... 11
H.
Upcoming next month: ................................................................................................................. 11
4.
ICT & EBUSINESS ................................................................................................................ 12
A.
Highlights...................................................................................................................................... 12
B.
Lowlights ...................................................................................................................................... 13
C.
Next quarter Activities .................................................................................................................. 13
D.
City of Cape Town SLA requirements ............................................................................................ 13
E.
Annexures: Graphs and Tables ..................................................................................................... 14
5.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH ..................................................................... 16
A.
Quarterly Overview ...................................................................................................................... 16
B.
Research Calendar ........................................................................................................................ 16
C.
Research ....................................................................................................................................... 17
D.
Knowledge Management ............................................................................................................. 18
E.
Highlights...................................................................................................................................... 19
F.
Quarter Ahead .............................................................................................................................. 19
6.
TOURISM MARKETING........................................................................................................ 20
A.
Quarterly Overview ...................................................................................................................... 20
B.
Highlights for the Quarter (Jan ’14 – Mar ’14) ............................................................................. 20
2
C.
MARKETING CALENDAR – Review Of Activities For The Quarter ................................................. 22
D.
Events ........................................................................................................................................... 23
E.
Campaigns .................................................................................................................................... 23
F.
Trade............................................................................................................................................. 24
G.
eMarketing ................................................................................................................................... 25
H.
Hosting ......................................................................................................................................... 28
I.
Communications ........................................................................................................................... 29
J.
Projects ......................................................................................................................................... 30
K.
Partnerships.................................................................................................................................. 32
L.
Challenges .................................................................................................................................... 32
M. The Quarter Ahead ....................................................................................................................... 33
N.
Appendix 6 .................................................................................................................................... 35
7.
INDUSTRY SERVICES ........................................................................................................... 37
A.
Quarterly Overview ...................................................................................................................... 37
B.
Highlights for the Quarter (Jan ’14 – Mar ’14) ............................................................................. 37
C.
Areas of concerns / development ................................................................................................. 37
D.
The Quarter Ahead ....................................................................................................................... 37
E.
Appendix 7 .................................................................................................................................... 39
8.
VISITOR SERVICES............................................................................................................... 40
A.
Quarterly Overview ...................................................................................................................... 40
B.
Highlights for the Quarter (Jan ’14 – Mar ’14) ............................................................................. 40
C.
Areas of concerns / development ................................................................................................. 40
D.
The Quarter Ahead ....................................................................................................................... 41
E.
Appendix 8 .................................................................................................................................... 42
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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Between October 2013 and February 2014, International arrivals to Cape Town’s shores are up 15%
year-on-year and accommodation performance is on an overall upward trend. The new events being
attracted to the city, coupled with the World Design Capital title are certain to maintain this upward
trend. With yet another successful summer season behind us, the City of Cape Town anticipates
continued growth with a series of planned new events that are set to entrench Cape Town’s position
as a year-round destination.
Several new events, including a new performing arts festival inspired by the energy and ethos of
popular Fringe Festivals in New York, Amsterdam, Adelaide and Edinburgh, are being mooted for
Cape Town over the next few months. In addition, Cape Town’s title as the World Design Capital
2014 is expected to attract visitors from the world’s creative hubs this year. Meanwhile, Cape Town
Tourism has reported an improved season overall, with growth in international arrivals and visits to
top City attractions over the past five months.
Arrivals by air
There was growth in international arrivals at Cape Town International Airport over the five month
period starting in October 2013 with an almost 15% increase year on year, and ending February 2014
up by about 8%. This represents a record number of international arrivals for February. Regional
Africa arrivals by air increased each month, with the exception of December and culminated in a
17% increase in February 2014. Domestic arrivals saw small increases from December 2013 onward.
Growing hotel occupancy
Cape Town Tourism’s Accommodation Performance Review and Forecast Survey showed that
accommodation performance in Cape Town continued on an overall upward trend with Revenue
per Available Room (RevPar)* increasing by an average of 16% per month between October and
December 2013, when compared with the same period the previous year. The occupancy level
registered by participating members between October 2013 and February 2014 was above 73%,
further supporting the 1% occupancy increase in 2013 when compared with 2012. Overall, the Cape
Town accommodation sector finished 2013 ahead of the class with almost 5% increase in Average
Room Rate (ARR), setting itself above the global average of 3% growth in ARR as reported in the
latest Hotel Price Index.
Occupancy
Average Room Rate (ARR)
RevPar
2013
YEAR:
63.0%
R 1,048
R 660
FULL
2012 FULL
YEAR:
61.9%
R 1,001
R 620
GROWTH:
1.1%
4.7%
6.5%
Table 1. Cape Town Tourism accommodation sector performance growth 2013 calendar year
4
Alluring attractions
Tourism businesses, including attractions, tour operators, vehicle-hire companies, restaurants and
wine farms were surveyed in March 2014, about their performance in recent months. 75% said that
their actual booking figures for January and February 2014 were better than business performance
for the same period the previous year.
December 2013 proved to be the best summer month for surveyed major tourist attractions, with
record breaking results for Cape Point and Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, both reporting more
than 100,000 visitors and record growth for Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Positive yearon-year growth was again reported by all attractions in February 2014. The V&A Waterfront saw its
highest ever number of visitors (24 million) in 2013, including 175 000 visitors on 31 December 2013
alone.
Source Markets
Traditionally, Cape Town hosts more international tourists than domestic between October and
March; however, indicators show a levelling out of international and domestic visitors this past
season. Key source markets - South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America,
Germany and the Netherlands continued to make up the top five countries of origin, but Regional
Africa flexed its muscle with a year-on-year average growth of almost 3% between October 2013
and February 2014. Emerging market India finished in the top 10 source markets for the season
while China and Brazil came in just outside of the top 10.
Financial Performance
As we reach the final quarter of our financial year 2013/14, our self-generated income has already
exceeded the forecasted budget for the full year, with three months of sales opportunities
remaining. The CTT staff need to be commended for driving the sales targets performance, despite
operational and contractual challenges in current business environment outside of their control.
Our total income of R34 million (YTD) was realized with R5.9 million (17.5% of total) attributed to
self-generated income and the remaining provided by the grant fund of R28 million. Total
Expenditure of R30.8 million made up of R15.8 million (Opex) and R15 million (Salaries), was spent
YTD resulting in a surplus of R3.2 million (+31% YTD variance). The company’s self-generated income
exceeded the targets by almost R718k (14% positive variance) as at end of March 2014. The main
contributing factor in exceeding our targets is income from our revised Strategic Partnership
Program and improved Membership retention. Our total income remained constant year-on-year;
however certain business unit activities like SANParks Commission and Retail Sales have fallen
behind budget are being actively monitored and managed.
5
2. FINANCIAL REPORT
The end of March 2014 marks the end of the third quarter of the 2014 financial year. Cape Town
Tourism made a year to date surplus of R3.3 million. This is 31 % above the year to date budget. As
we enter the final quarter of the year, the profitability is forecasted to decrease due to a number of
activities lined up in the remainder this financial year, such as Mobile VIC and collateral, SANParks
awareness campaign, Trade Show Indaba, winter campaign e.tc.
A. Income
Cape Town Tourism would like to thank the City Of Cape Town for assisting and facilitating the
advance payment of final quarter grant funding. A payment of R10.7 million was received on the
25th of March from The City of Cape Town. Grant funding paid on time has a positive impact of
improving the liquidity of Cape Town Tourism.
Cape Town Tourism’s total income to date is R34million. Year to date self-generated income is R6
million. The good news is that Cape Town Tourism has surpassed its annual target after nine months
of trading. Cape Town Tourism is 14% above its year to date target. Exceeding the annual target at
the end of the third quarter is a positive indicator that management and the team are working hard
in order to improve the net worthiness of Cape Town Tourism. An analysis of major self-generated
income streams is as below:

Visitors Guide:
at R1.4 million YTD, below target by 7 %

Membership fees:
at R1.8 million YTD, below target by 1 %

Strategic Partnership:
at R0,7 million YTD, exceeded target by 561 %

Commission SANP:
at R0,6 million YTD, below target by 28 %

Commission Reservations:
at R0,6 million YTD, exceeded target by 29 %
During the month of March, membership income had decreased compared to previous months.
This is common as we approach the end of the financial year. No significant changes have been
realized on other income streams.
B. Expenditure
The total YTD expenditure as at the end of March 2014 is at R30.8 million against YTD budget of
R31 million. There is no major change from previous month as the budget variance remained at
0%. Graph 1 below is a diagrammatic presentation of Cape Town Tourism’s income and
Expenditure as well as the profitability of the company.
6
C.
Liquidity
Liquidity ratios measure the capacity of Cape Town Tourism to meet short term financial
commitments as they become due, it is therefore very important we monitor our Liquidity ratios.
Below is an extract of Cape Town Tourism’s balance sheet as at 31 March 2014.
31 March 2014
30 June 2013
172 968
2 667 468
16 368 108
143 644
3 858 712
1 165 484
19 208 544
5 167 840
12 705 910
1 367 204
2 002 232
2 380 061
14 073 115
4 382 292
Current Assets
Inventories
Trade and other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
Total Current Assets
Current Liabilities
Trade and other payables
Provisions
Total Current Liabilities
March 2014
June 2013
1.4: 1
1.2: 1
Current ratio
The current ratio (also called the working Capital ratio) measures the solvency or liquidity of a
company. Cape Town Tourism’s current ratio above shows a 20 cents (17%) improvement from
June 2013 to March 2014. A current ratio 1.4: 1 means Cape Town Tourism has current assets of
R1.40 for every R1 of current liabilities. CTT exceeded the general rule of current ratio above 1:1
March 2014
Quick ratio
1.4: 1
June 2013
1.1: 1
Cape Town Tourism has improved its Quick ratio by 27% from 1.1 in June 2013 to 1.4 in March
2014. The higher the ratio indicates the higher the level of liquidity for the company. The optimal
quick ratio is 1:1 or higher, which means that current liabilities can be met from current assets
without the need to sell inventory. The above ratios and comparison with the beginning of this
fiscal continues to indicate and demonstrate the concerted effort to ensure the positive financial
position of Cape Town Tourism, due to improved policies, cash controls and negotiation of
services with providers.
7
D. Graphs
R 34 107 973
35 000 000
R 33 389 574
30 000 000
25 000 000
20 000 000
15 000 000
10 000 000
R 3 265 951
5 000 000
R 2 491 508
(5 000 000)
YTD Income
YTD Expenses
Surplus / (Loss)
(10 000 000)
(15 000 000)
(20 000 000)
(25 000 000)
(30 000 000)
(35 000 000)
R -30 898 066
R -30 842 022
Actual
Budget
Graph 1: Actual vs Budget for month ending March 2014
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E. Finance - Abridged Financial Statement
9
3. HUMAN RESOURCES
A. Workforce movements
The total workforce profile end of March 2014 was 84 staff members, of which 70 are on permanent
contracts and 14 are on Fixed Term Contracts. We had 2 terminations, and 3 new engagements
during the month of March. The engagements are fixed term contracts for a specific project/period.
We currently have the following vacancies:

Strategic Communications and Content Manager & Content Writer (permanent)

Online Social Media Coordinator (3 month fixed term contract)

We currently have 1 staff member on maternity leave.
B. Payroll & Leave
Payroll budget remains in line with projected calculations, with small saving, mainly due to current
vacancies not yet placed. Over the last quarter leave provision was at the lowest in past 3 years, but
have significantly increased during February and March due to overdue accumulative leave of
frontline team and CEO.
C.
Employee Wellness
Careways continues to provide professional support to staff members and their immediate family
members in relation to finance, legal, emotional and other day to day guidance and support that our
staff might need. Cape Town Tourism continues to have an above average utilization rate, current
32%, on the Employee Wellness programme which shows that this programme adds value to the
people management of the organization.
D. Training and Development
Over the last quarter a total of 49 external training interventions was scheduled and attended by
staff.
The following interventions are planned for the next quarter:

Excel training

Business & Report Writing

POPI – Protection of personal information bill

Occupational Health and Safety

Individual, job specific ad hoc training
10
E.
Work Based Learning Programme
Currently recruiting 6 students for work based learning opportunities (minimum 6 months) within
Marketing, HR, and Finance and Tourism Services business units. CTT have applied for stipends for
students, which will be reviewed based on requirements and guidelines – to date CTT has not yet
been successful to secure any stipends through DEDAT.
The following work based learning opportunities has been confirmed to date:

HR Student for April to June 2014

Marketing Student from April to October 2014 – stipend has been confirmed with Boland College
F.
Employment Equity
Employment Equity Analysis survey details from the survey have been reviewed by the Employment
Equity Committee. Outcomes and proposals discussed and presented to EXCO. VIC audits – identify
current needs/requirements/risk within each of the centres. Audits have been finalised. The analysis
and proposals will be presented to EXCO.
G. HR Strategy
HR Strategy (draft) presented to EXCO and a brief update was presented at FINCO.
H. Upcoming next month:
Cultural Diversity programme: volunteers and nominees have been received – workshops to be
rolled out during May 2014. Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) due 30 April 2014.
11
4. ICT & EBUSINESS
We’ve seen some improvements in the areas of service uptime as well as the resolving of incidents with
Helpdesk and these are a direct result of the improved understanding and growth in skills of our internal
support teams. We have managed to position our support process to be a lot more proactive with many
levels of monitoring having been implemented over the past eighteen months which allows us to respond
easier to alerts and notifications which is in direct support of one of our main objectives of ensuring an above
95% system availability.
We have finally reached the stage where we are moving CTT behind a new modern MPLS network that will
be the primary platform to support all our data and voice needs and the next quarter there will be a greater
focus on ensuring that all staff has the same user experience as if they were based at the Pinnacle Building
which will support the organisation’s approach in having a standard process and set of tools available for all
staff.
A. Highlights









We are once again able to report an average above 99% uptime of our server environment
for the past quarter as shown in Graph 1: Year vs. Year Uptime where we measured the
March 2013 quarter against the March 2014 one. We have also decommissioned the
Blackberry Enterprise Server and in future that will not be part of the reporting metrics
The year on year ticket report, Table 1: Quarter vs. Quarter closing ratio, shows that during
past quarter we managed to increase the closing ratio versus the same period last year by 7%
with a slightly higher number of tickets being logged
Over the past quarter we were again able to procure additional software on the NPO program
that will allow us to increase the investment in our research and development programs
which contributes to our reduced downtime in our live environment
As highlighted in our team development plans and areas of focus, around increasing the
skillsets of the internal resources, Nasheena attended as the first resource the Business
Analysis Foundation course which will drive the documenting of processes
Our incident logging system Spiceworks went through a major upgrade with a newly
developed interface as well as some new features and one of the capabilities delivered now is
the ability to have users access the self-service portal to view status and request updates
We have rolled out a fully operational Public Wi-Fi network which will be advertised and was
made available to the public by the end of January while final testing and sign off took place
in February
We have implemented a new bulk email solution over last quarter which gives us greater
power to manage and report on all organisational communication. The Everlytic Enterprise
solution will also allow us to distribute SMS’s using a much more user friendly solution which
can be used by departments outside of eBusiness while ensuring that our branding is
protected
We have started to more closely scrutinise the ticket report with weekly ticket report checkins as part of the 1-on-1’s while ensuring that follow the process to escalate any critical issues
early enough in the process and categorisation for repeat tickets to be implemented by the
end of the month with a delay around the coding required to get it sorted out as a reporting
criteria
As part of the new backup and recovery process we implemented a dedicated 10MB ADSL at
the Airport wire room to ensure that we have stand-alone line to accommodate for our
offsite requirements. Additionally we have started the process of ensuring that all notebook
users are properly configured and that their data is backed up automatically when connected
to our network
12

As an outcome of the Business Analysis training that Nasheena attended she has started to
share her knowledge with the result that Mellania has also completed the Newsflash and
supplier invoices, processes with a workshop to schedule with affected stakeholders and then
implementation to follow
B. Lowlights







C.



One of the recurring lowlights over the last few months has again been the performance of
the digital platform where we again saw in the year on year reporting period that total
engagement figures for the touch screen solution fell by 15% as shown in Graph 2: Year on
Year Touch Screen Engagements which can mainly be contributed to the fact that we have
fewer units than what we had a year ago
We experienced some challenges over the past quarter with our voice systems with Call
Centre calls to SANParks agents not being transferred due to the FEPS Service not working
correctly and we managed resolve this by restarting the FEPS service so that the VOIP trunk
would work correctly again
The newly implemented Vox ADSL service speeds were very poor at the branches with the
average line speeds of about 0.40Mbps – 0.60Mbps and we have addressed this by increasing
the speeds to be the actual 4Mbps that was agreed to be the minimum speed for each office
Finalising MPLS network was a real challenge over the past quarter and even though the
different teams from the building owners to Telkom were on site there were some serious
building construction challenges. The building manager managed to get it resolved through
his construction team and they had to create a new tunnel into the building to accommodate
the Telkom cabling
We experienced cable theft at the Airport during the past quarter with the result that we had
the backups out of sync by almost 10 days and even though we managed to have it resolved
within a day, after Telkom restored the service, we are still engaging with the service provider
to provide a feasible work around or alternate solution in the event that we have a similar
incident in the future
We also experienced downtime on our air conditioner in the server room and even though
we had no major service interruptions we have started the process to get a backup unit in
place that will form part of our contingency for the data centre
The recurring line errors issue remains and we have received a revised call flow which will be
signed off for implementation within the next ten (x10) days that should resolve the issue
Next quarter Activities
eBusiness team will be getting training on Crystal Report Writing to allow for an internal
report writing resource to grow the internal intellectual property in this area and take over
some of the responsibilities
We will continue with our technical workshops to unpack the inner workings of our different
services and the first one that we shared with the broader team was the working and setup of
the backup solution with the outcome being agreed that the architecture and structure of the
solution will be documented to ensure continuity when an individual is no longer with the
organisation
The MPLS network last mile connectivity to Head Office will allow the team to complete the
change in sign on to Active Directory at the VIC’s and also the moving of their local data to the
data centre serve
D. City of Cape Town SLA requirements

There have been no changes or updates to report on the assets for the City of Cape Town.
13
E.
Annexures: Graphs and Tables
March'13 vs March'14 Qtr
100,00
80,00
60,00
40,00
20,00
0,00
March'13
Quarter
March'14
Quarter
March'13
Quarter
March'14
Quarter
BBBES
99.42
99.82
Backup
99.44
99.79
Data01
99.56
99.88
Data02
99.51
99.77
Excas01
99.55
99.91
Excas02
99.58
99.88
Exht03
94.29
95.60
Exmb01
99.56
99.88
Exmd02
99.55
99.92
Fileserver
99.56
99.90
Hyperv01
99.60
99.97
Hyperv02
99.62
99.97
DC
99.58
99.93
DC2
99.50
99.75
VMMS
99.51
99.90
WSUS
99.24
99.87
Hyperv03
99.65
99.96
Spiceworks
99.49
99.88
TSGateway
99.53
99.83
99.24
99.64
Server
Qtr Average
Graph 1: Year vs. Year Uptime
14
March'13 vs March'14 Qtr
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
March'13 Quarter
March'14
Quarter
March'13
Quarter
March'14
Quarter
Change
CT Airport Right Kiosk
45682
41116
-10%
CT Airport Left Kiosk
43744
46235
6%
CT Airport Baggage
8721
7021
-19%
CT International Arrivals
9798
10782
10%
Engen N1 South Kiosk
3228
0
-100%
Engen N1 North Kiosk
7383
0
-100%
Cape Town Station
10715
5157
-52%
Totals
129271
110311
-15%
Location
Graph 2: Year vs Year Touchscreen engagements
March'13
Quarter
March'14
Quarter
Logged
402
405
Closed
341
372
Closing Ratio
85%
92%
Location
Table 1: Quarter vs Quarter Closing Ratio
15
5. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH
A. Quarterly Overview
The focus of the first quarter of 2014 was on research – visitor and industry – relating to Summer
2013/2014 performance indicators. A significant amount of time was spent on media and
stakeholder engagement around this information.
Several other projects were underway over this time as well, making it a very busy period from a
research and knowledge management perspective. This includes the ongoing UA project supporting
the City of Cape Town and ongoing UNWTO City Tourism Impact Study along with new projects Price
Gouging, Visitors Guide Survey and internally, the Employment Equity Survey was wrapped up and
report issued.
The groundwork has also been laid proactively for two special projects listed in the SLA. On the
knowledge management side, SAP Crystal Dashboard was purchased as performance visualization
tool.
B. Research Calendar
16
C.
Research
The Summer 2013/2014 project, that looked at tourism performance in Cape Town for the October
2013 to February 2014 period along with a forecast for March was the main focus with the
following activities completed:
 The Summer 2013/2014 project wrapped up with 521 industry and 1689 visitor surveys.
 City of Cape Town supplied with available summer indicator information mid-January for a
December review press release.
 Spotlight on Summer Tourism in Cape Town’ article written for Industry Newsletter February
2014 as overview of summer research to date. Read more.
 Data from all surveys and ring-rounds collated and analysed.
 High Season 2013/2014 Overview Report of 14 pages written and briefed in for design layout.
 High season overview press release compiled for issue by/with City of Cape Town.
 Article submitted for April 2014 Industry Newsletter.
The Monthly Industry Dashboards were issued for the quarter and a new Visitor Profile Dashboard
created reflecting information from the monthly VSAT data.
In terms of seasonality, a Seasonality Index for Cape Town was commissioned for the first time
with Horwath HTL to be issued in May 2014. It has been set up to monitor the variance between
April 2013 – September 2013 and April 2012 – September 2012 as well as October 2013 – March
2014 compared to October 2012 – March 2013. An opportunity for Cape Town to host the next
UNWTO Seasonality Conference, the first is being held in Punta del Este in May 2014, is being
explored with Yolanda Perdomo of the UNWTO.
The Employment Equity Survey closed on 10 January with a 93% response rate and a report was
written and sent to HR.
A membership drive was initiated in January 2014 to increase the monthly sample size for the
Accommodation Performance Review and Forecast Report. A sample of 69 was achieved in
January and 79 in February which represents a significant increase. Marisah Smith also presented
Cape Town Accommodation Performance Review & Forecast project at Tourism Research Seminar
organised by City of Cape Town and Grant Thornton on Tuesday, 11 February 2014.
A feedback survey for the Cape Town Official Visitors’ Guide was set up for visitors and had 160
responses to date as at 9 April 2014.
17
On a strategic intelligence level, CTT met with ACSA and arranged for use of MIDT data to segment
airport arrivals into international, regional and domestic countries of origin as input for destination
data and market targeting. The City of Cape Town’s Strategic Intelligence team will be extrapolating
data from the National Domestic Tourism Survey down to a Cape Town level and CTT identified
key insights that we would be interested in obtaining from the study.
Research & Statistics web page:
The Research & Statistics web page continued to show positive growth in Total Page Views – 38%
average increase for the quarter – and Unique Page Views – 59% average increase for the quarter
– as well as achieving an average dwell time well above the average for the site.
D. Knowledge Management
On the Knowledge Management side, destination data for city indicators were identified and
performance indicators received from CTT teams for the internal dashboard.
After considering cost-benefit scenarios, we decided to continue using Excel as data processing
programme for the research department but SAP Crystal Dashboard was purchased for
dashboarding, bringing about a saving of more than R20, 000.00.
A number of projects were underway in quarter one, 2014 including progress made as groundwork for
special projects listed in the SLA but yet to be commissioned by the City of Cape Town:
1. Annual Visitor Satisfaction Index Survey (SLA Special Project):
 276 In-destination visitor summer surveys concluded to draw satisfaction levels from to be
presented at AGM 2014.
2. Bi-Annual Tourism and Visitor Survey future demand focus attractions (SLA Special Project):
 Groundwork/Progress – Visitor satisfaction level measured with ‘diversity of attractions’ in
Cape Town during in-destination surveys and attraction data to be extracted from monthly
dashboards.
 CPUT student will be conducting surveys of a wider range of visitor attractions (sample of
59 proposed) as part of Universities project.
Cape Town Tourism continues to support the City of Cape Town and National Department of Tourism
project on Universal Accessibility and conducted the following actions during the quarter:
 Newsflash to encourage survey participation distributed February 2014.
 Tourism sector surveys approved.
18

Sonya Hector identified and trained as internal assessor. UA self-assessment of CTT Visitor
Centre network completed in March.
More than 930 online and 180 telephonic rate checks were completed as part of a Price Gouging study
to ascertain whether significant rate hikes were evident over three key event weekends in Cape Town,
namely Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour, Cape Town International Jazz Festival and Two Oceans
Marathon. The pricing of four airlines and 60 accommodation establishments in categories 5-star, 4star, 3-star and guesthouses was monitored.
Participation confirmed for three student research projects with partner Universities: University of
Cape Town, Stellenbosch University and Cape Peninsula University of Technology. University of the
Western Cape does not have any new Masters students enrolled for 2014 year.
E.
Highlights


Presentation at Tourism Research Seminar was well received.
Large sample sizes were achieved in both visitor and industry surveys for Summer 2013/2014
project – with thanks to Tourism Services for their support.
Significant increase in visitor numbers to the Research & Statistics page on
www.capetown.travel.

F.
Quarter Ahead
The quarter ahead remains a busy one but we hope that the pace will allow for processing internal
data and creating dashboards listed as well as building on existing survey processes. Key activities up
ahead:












Data for the Price Gouging study has to be processed and findings issued. Follow up actions
to be identified.
Design mechanism for Visitor Satisfaction Survey to be extended into the VICs over the low
season.
Amending the format of Quarterly Industry Dashboard as well as yearly Cape Town Visitor
Industry document.
Conduct feasibility study for Cape Town hosting UNWTO Seasonality Conference in 2015.
Release findings from Seasonality Index conducted by Horwath HTL.
Create internal dashboard using Crystal SAP showing performance for quarter 3 and 4 of 2013
and quarter 1 of 2014.
Present guest lecture at UCT for tourism management students.
Commence next phase of UNWTO City Tourism Pilot Project to measure impact of tourism in
cities as part of tri-partite working group with City of Cape Town, UCT and Grant Thornton.
Initiation of Economic Value of Tourism 2013 project as support to City of Cape Town and
Grant Thornton.
Formalise Universities projects and sign sponsorship agreements with three students.
Start with first market report on the UK for issue to Cape Town Tourism members.
Purchase trend data from STR Global and subscribe to SA Hotel Review for an additional
monthly indicator for the accommodation sector.
19
6. TOURISM MARKETING
A. Quarterly Overview
The year got off to a very good start with Cape Town being named “the No 1 place to visit in 2014”
by the New York Times and by all accounts it appears to have been a good season for the tourism
industry. In March Cape Town was announced World Earth Hour Capital which is great news for us
in terms of responsible tourism and sustainability.
Marketing highlights have included our very first road show to India and a successful ITB. In addition
we have hosted a number of high quality media from The Guardian; Telegraph; Huffington Post;
Conde Nast Traveler; Sawubona and Monocle amongst others. Our media ROI for the quarter was
close to R5m, a 40% increase on what we achieved in the same quarter last year. We have been more
focused in our messaging with core themes for each month, for example family in March and Month
of Freedom in April. Our website traffic has continued to grow with a 5% increase on the same
quarter last year in terms of overall visits, and 12% increase in unique visitors. We have seen our
Facebook community grow to 310 000 people and our twitter community to over 42 000 people. We
supported 146 events to a value of over R566 000.
From a strategic point of view we have refined our focus to concentrate primarily on seasonality.
This means that a seasonal filter is applied to our marketing activities and messaging. As a result we
have increased the investment into our winter campaign launching in May and going forward we will
be revising our market segmentation strategy to focus on markets more likely to travel in our low
season.
In the next few months our focus is on WTM Africa; Indaba; launch of the mobile VIC; Winter
campaign; a proactive China hosting; the SAT China roadshow; simplifying the navigation on our
website and planning for the next fiscal. Key messages are as follows April see us focusing on month
of freedom; May food and wine and June on health and wellness.
Our biggest challenge over this period has been resource as we have been operating without a PR &
Comms Manager & an E-Marketing manager. Whilst the team have done a great job under the
circumstances they have been very stretched through a busy period. We are also seeing a decline in
referral traffic to our website due to Facebook making it more and more difficult for brands to get
their content noticed without spending significantly. Measures have been put in place to address
this. We are also investing significant time and energy to looking at the quality of our online content
to ensure that we remain thought leaders in the tourism marketing space.
B. Highlights for the Quarter (Jan ’14 – Mar ’14)
Media Hosting:
19 media groups that included The Guardian; Telegraph; Huffington Post;
Conde Nast Traveler; Sawubona and Monocle amongst others.
Media ROI:
R4 984 338.13 (+40% year on year)
Events:
146 events were supported this quarter; total value equals R566 500
Trade:
ITB, Germany (5th – 9th March 14) – over 100 direct engagements
SA Tourism’s India Road Show (24th – 28th Jan 14) – over 230 direct
engagements
20
Fam trips: SA Tourism, INDIA: 28th February & 4th March 14, CTT hosted 28
Indian travel trade agents; SA Tourism, UK: 23rd March, CTT hosted 8 UK
travel trade (including STA and Destinology) for a welcome dinner
E-mail Comms:
23.75% Trade Newsletter opening rate (+0.54% YoY)
23.89 % Industry Newsletter opening rate (+15.4% YoY)
28% Industry Newsflash opening rate (+7.56% YoY)
Website:
374 901 total visits (+5,75% YoY)
310 332 Unique visitors (+12,5% YoY)
02:33 average dwell time (+ 9.35% YoY)
62,2% bounce rate (improved by 2,8% YoY)
Blog:
86 posts throughout the quarter
6245 views for top performing blog: Lily Allen films music video in Cape
Town
Social Media:
7952 Facebook growth in likes, 310 232 total
5 896 Twitter growth in followers, 42 429 total
21
C.
Marketing Calendar – Review Of Activities For The Quarter
2013-14 MARKETING CALENDAR
Jul-13
1
8
15
Aug-13
22
29
6
12
19
Sep-13
26
3
9
16
Oct-13
23
30
7
14
Nov-13
21
28
4
11
18
Dec-13
25
2
9
16
23
Jan-14
30
6
13
20
Feb-14
27
3
10
17
Mar-14
24
3
10
17
Apr-14
24
EVENTS
World Design Capital 2014
7
14
21
28
5
12
19
Jun-14
26
2
9
16
23
WDC 2014
DESIGN FESTIVA L
CTT A GM
2DE NUWE JA A R
M INING INDA B A A RGUS
EP IC
TWO OCEA NS
GF&WS
Cape Town Key Events
FUNNY FESTIVA L
FA SH WEEK
LOERIES & CT M A RA THON
ONGOING SUPPORT
Events Support
GUN RUN
FEST OF LIGHTS
CA P E TO RIO
J & B M ET DESIGN INDA B A
LOERIES
#LoveCapeTown (International Campaign - Blogger)
CAMPAIGNS
31
May-14
CT CA RNIVA LJA ZZ FEST
GUGS WINE FEST
ONGOING SUPPORT
#LOVECAPETOWN
Love Cape Town Tourism M onth (Local)
TOURISM MONTH
WINTER CAMPAIGN
Love Cape Town City Breaks (Winter Campaign)
WINTER CAMPAIGN
Launch of M obile VIC
LAUNCH EVENT
Launch Campaign
Campaigns to promote CTT services (TBC - IS/VS)
Trade Shows
WTM 5-8 NOV
TRADE
Road Shows
ITB 6-10 MAR
NETHERLANDS
Trade Newsletters
N/LETTER 1
ATW
INDABA 11-14 May
INDIA
N/LETTER 2
N/LETTER 3
Trade Hosting (TBC)
CHINA
N/LETTER 4
N/LETTER 5
SAT India Hosting (30)
Budget: CRM
AFRICA TRAVEL WEEK
Trade Partnerships (India Post Roadshow)
Toolkit Improvements & Roll-outs
ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS & UPDATES
HANDOVER
E-MKTING
Website Optimisation
NEW WDC2014 SECTION
STRAT DVLP
MAINTENANCE AND SEO UPGRADES
LAUNCH WITH NEW NAVIGATION
Visitor Newsletters
DOM N/L
WDC focused M edia Hosting
ONGOING WDC SUPPORT
Events focused M edia Hosting
CT Design Festival
YFM Gugs Wine Fest Hosting
Destination Comms
FAMILY
CTT Brand Strategy
MNTH OF FREEDOM FOOD & WINE
Finalise
IMPLEMENTATION
Annual Report
UPLOAD
AGM
CTT AGM 10th OCT
PRINTED REPORTS DIST
Budget: Corporate Services
Industry M arketing Sessions
Collateral (Internal, M arketing, Visitor, M embership)
WELLNESS
Corporate Comms
Corporate Communications
PROJECTS
DOM N/L
ONGOING MEDIA HOSTING
M edia Hosting (60 % Existing; 30% New; 10% Online)
Destination Communications
INT N/L
ONGOING LINK ACQUISITION CAMPAIGN (Includes PPC - Bookability)
Campaigns (SEO)
COMMUNICATIONS
NEW NAVIGATION LAUNCh
Seamless Booking
Marketing session end May tbc
Reprint existing; update when new brand is finalised
Photography
Update photo library - primary selection, usage, naming conventions, archive etc
Shoot
Visitors Guide
Development of 2015 guide
Launch 2014 Guide
Winner 1
Digital Campaign Winner Hosting (TBC)
PART
M obile App
Strategic Partners
Negotiate
NEW CONTRACTS
Review Programme
22
Negotiate
D. Events
The total number of events supported for the quarter is: 146, showing a 282% increase on 2013 for
the same period. The huge increase can be attributed to the self-help tool on
www.capetown.travel, which allows members and event organisers to upload their own events, at
no cost. In addition to that CTT also offer bronze, silver and gold packages of marketing support to
event organisers that fulfil certain criteria. The total value of that in-kind support is R566 500 for
the quarter.
Year on year comparison
Year
2013
2014
January
February
March
16
45
16
37
20
65
E.
Campaigns

Winter campaign, CTT & Thompsons Holidays – preparation and planning for the annual winter
campaign in partnership with Thompsons Holidays. Additional budget has been allocated to this
activity in order to target regional Africa and grow the number of packages sold YOY.
Campaign dates: May to July
In addition, CTT’s members were invited to submit special offers for the winter campaign
collateral – 20 offers were received in total (to improve on quality of offers submitted in 2013,
strict criteria were set in order to ensure that the offers submitted were highly competitive and
track-able).
Differences 2014 vs. 2013:
o Timings – shorter sales period (1st May – 31st July 14) and travel period (1st June – 31st August
14) in order to allow for better rates to be negotiated from airline, car hire and
accommodation partners.
o Packages – exclusion of ‘mystery weekend packages’, Loeries and CPT marathon due to
minimal uptake.
o Target market – targeting flight packages (JNB, DUR & PLZ) in addition to intra-provincial bus
packages. Regional Africa has also been included in the campaign.
o PPC (Google) - introduction of online marketing (PPC activity) to capture research stage of
booking.
o Retail trade partners – Upweight marketing activity with trade partners as 75% packages of
all packages sold in 2013 were via this channel.
o Trade competition - Introduction of a trade incentive (‘Win a weekend trip to CPT’) to
incentivise Thompsons Holidays trade partners to sell winter packages over other packages
available in the market.
23
F.

Trade
Trade Shows
2 x CTT reps attended ITB, Germany (5th – 9th March 14).
CTT had over 100 direct engagements with Trade and consumers, with specific collateral created
for the German market, made available via our online Toolkit, in order to position Cape Town as a
city that offers culture and heritage, world class golf, wine and gourmet experiences and
adventure’ . The Cape Town map was translated into German and proved to be extremely
popular. German collateral

SA Tourism India Road Show
2 x CTT reps attended SA Tourism’s India Road Show (24th – 28th Jan 14). The Road Show visited 4
cities - Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai – and was attended by over 1,000 Indian travel trade.
A delegation of 66 top South African products attended, ranging from activity providers, car
rental, DMC’s / Tour Operators, Tourism Association and Support, airlines and Hotel and Game
Reserves. CTT proved to be a popular stand, with over 230 meetings held, with our attendance
was focused on building our understanding of the markets and in-market relationships, educating
the trade and create awareness of the diversity of experiences in Cape Town.
Specific collateral was created for the Indian market, positioning Cape Town as ‘a value for money
destination that offers unique experiences, fun, relaxation and adventure’. India collateral


Trade hosting/FAM trips
CTT is becoming increasingly involved in co-hosting FAM trips with SA Tourism’s international
offices, due to stronger relationships built by the Trade & Campaigns team attending domestic and
international Trade Shows and Road Shows.
o
SA Tourism, INDIA: 28th February & 4th March 14, CTT hosted 28 Indian travel trade agents
who won a place on SAT’s FAM trip by completing the ‘Learn SA Programme’. CTT led 2 x
full days of itineraries including relevant highlights of the Mother City for the Indian market.
o
SA Tourism, UK: 23rd March, CTT hosted 8 UK travel trade (including STA and Destinology)
for a welcome dinner at Gold Restaurant, in addition to organising activities with our Gold
Partners (Table Mountain and City Sightseeing).
Trade newsletter, 19th Feb 14 – ‘What’s new in Cape Town’ – following feedback from agents at
the India Road Show, content focused on highlighting new and exciting activities that are available
in Cape Town. To support our Gold partners, focus on new eateries at the V&A Waterfront.
24
G.
eMarketing
Website:

Visits: During quarter 3 the website received 374 901 visitors resulting in a +5.75% increase
when compared to Q3 in 2013, this is slightly lower than the forecasted 10%. Further to that
we can report increases in the following areas when compared to quarter 3 2013:
o Unique Visitors: 300 248 (+12.51% increase)
o Ave visitor duration: 02:32 (9.35% decrease)
o Organic Traffic: 288 084 (39.75% increase)
We have seen a slowing in growth, this is due in particular to referral traffic from Facebook
being down for two reasons. The first is a strategic decision from CTT to not focus all energies
on our blog and referring traffic to the website via Facebook. The second is Facebook’s change
in policy to make it harder for brands to get their content noticed without spending
significantly. In order to counter this we have put in place a link building strategy and a
Facebook campaign which will need to be monitored very closely.

Source Markets: Our domestic and international key source markets have also shown
substantial improvements, comparing quarter on quarter. Domestic market (SA) online
visitors increased by +36.73%, United States by +28.61%, Netherlands by +51.28% and India
by +25.78%. This is a good indication of Search Engines with Google South Africa as exception
are indexing our site and placing our keywords in their listings.

Top Performing Pages: In quarter 3 2014 compared to 2013 are as follows:
1. Homepage with 128 967 Pageviews (+11.67% increase)
2. Events 19 027 Pageviews (+20.84% increase)
3. Plan your trip landing page with 18 567 Pageviews (+51.65% increase)
4. Maps and Guides landing page with 17 552 Pageviews (+65.40% increase)
5. Table Mountain Cable way landing page with 17 164 Pageviews (+79.52% increase)
25

SEO Strategy: As the table below illustrates we have managed to consistently increase our
ranking across our branded key words and long tail searches. We have divided search terms
into awareness and conversion keywords as this will assist with our future on site conversion
landing pages. We are also working closely with our service provider to produce new keyword
strategies that we will align with our upcoming link building campaign.
Keyword
Cape Town
cape town south africa
Cape Town Tourism
Visit Cape Town
cape town events
Table Mountain
AWARENESS Robben Island
Kirstenbosch
V&A Waterfront
waterfront cape town
table mountain cape town
cape point nature reserve
cape town attractions
cape town guided tours
accommodation in cape town
cape town guest houses
CONVERSION
cape town information
trip to cape town
Jan 13
Ranking in
Google
1
2
1
1
2
3
4
3
2
3
5
4
1
7
13
9
1
1
Feb 13
Ranking
in Google
3
2
1
1
2
4
5
4
3
3
3
4
2
14
20
1
1
Mar 2013
Ranking in
Google
1
2
1
1
2
3
6
5
2
4
2
7
1
17
21
11
1
1
Social Media

Highlights:
o The victory of the city’s bid for the WWF’s #welovecapetown campaign through
extensive assistance from coverage on our blog and social media platforms.
o Content workshop to focus on improving on the quality of our content across all
platforms.

Facebook: While the number of overall likes has still continued to increase, Facebook
engagement stats have consistently dropped month on month. The total page likes (fans)
have increased from 281 982 in the same quarter in 2013 to 310 232 in 2014, a total of 28 250
new fans.

This drop can be attributed to Facebook’s monetisation strategy: They are making it virtually
impossible for brands to get their content noticed without paying for it. In order to try and
improve engagement
CTT made a strategic change in this quarter, focusing heavily on taking our Facebook page
back to being a place of ‘dreams’, posting large images and galleries in order to maximise
organic share-ability by engaging the audience with images that they were likely to share with

26

their own communities. In addition we will also be investing in paid Facebook advertising and
promote a post.
Facebook highlights:
o We have implemented our strategy of more large images and galleries, which has
proved very successful with the highest possible engagement rates and reach, taking
into account Facebook’s strangle hold on organic reach.
o The strategic decision to limit external linking from the Facebook page to the website
has seen an increase in content quality and steady engagement.
o Team have gained actionable insights into the type of Facebook content that works
best with Facebook’s algorithms in order to maintain engagement rates.

Twitter: The need has arisen to create two twitter accounts. @capetowntourism will run as a
corporate account, targeted to industry members; partners and stakeholders; focusing on
“thought leadership” and tourism content. @lovecapetown will focus on tourism visitor
services, targeted to visitors and locals of the destination, assisting visitors with daily queries
& bookings. The roll-out is envisaged for end April 2014, to coincide with the launch of the
mobile visitor vehicle.

YouTube: The approved YouTube strategy is currently being implemented focusing on a cleanup of hosted content, between leisure and corporate video uploads.

Pinterest: Cross marketing on our Facebook platform has been seeded, in order to raise
awareness of wedding venues, restaurants and iconic places on offer in the destination.

Instagram: Focused on rolling out the strategy, to post more regularly, in order to grow the
engagement and number of followers.
Blogs & content:




Over the past quarter, our focus has been on producing quality blog posts versus quantity, and
we have achieved this by implementing our summer campaign and highlighting key WDC 2014,
Gold Partners, CHAN and City of Cape Town events.
We continue to refresh our static content i.e. member, attraction and activities listings and
drawing readers to them via our social media platforms.
This revised strategy has successfully lead to the publication of 86 quality blogs from January to
March 2014.
Top Blogs:
27
January 2014:
H.
February 2014:
March 2014:
Hosting
Cape Town Tourism hosted 19 international media pax for the quarter, compared to 49 pax in 2013.
The split of journalists was skewed to key source markets and key titles included Travel Weekly,
RoughGuides, Conde Naste Traveller, The Guardian, Mail on Sunday, Virgin Inflight Magazine.
The variance in number of journalists hosted vs the same quarter in 2013 is due to two factors,
namely:
 We did a big domestic hosting in March 2013, with a total of 19 guests.

We decided to take on a reactive role in this quarter, in support of WDC 2014. Therefore
ensuring that we had budget and resource to host journalists that were coming for
WDC2014. We have unfortunately not received any leads from their office to date and are
therefore reviewing this approach for the last quarter.
However, the quality of the journalists was far better, with our key targeted media publications
coming on their own accord. Print media, with high circulation and readership from our key source
markets have commissions in Cape Town, which is a big shift from 2013, where the destination had
not seeded with print publications to the extent it has this year.
Refer to appendix for breakdown of media.
Highlights for the quarter:
 Although the hostings this quarter were reactive, many media were incidentally on our
targeted list, ie Rough Guides, Huffington Post, Sawubona Magazine
 Evidence of the work we have done in previous years in seeding the destination with online
travel blogs and influencers is paying off, with the print media following suit. Cape Town is
high on the media radar at the moment, and we expect to see a continuance of this trend for
the remainder of the year.
 The guest relations hosting programme is underway, with a growing pool of members offering
the media a diverse range of experiences in Cape Town. We look forward to expanding this
into the next fiscal.
28
I. Communications
Strategic Communications
 A new Integrated Communications Calendar was developed for the organisation to stretch from
March till June 2014, directing the main messaging throughout the company for the next season.
 A monthly communication meeting has been initiated to ensure that Cape Town Tourism’s
messaging is aligned with theirs going forward.
 A strategic decision was made that going forward; all content will fall under one overall theme per
month, to make sure that CTT’s messaging is aligned and clear. The content theme for March was
‘family’, consistently positioning Cape Town successfully as a kid- and family-friendly destination
throughout all our channels.
 During February, printed Cape Town Tourism branded Valentine’s Cards were sent to all CTT’s team
members and partners, to enhance patriotism for the destination and create and maintain
progressive relationships.
Public Relations

Media ROI: Our total media ROI for this quarter was R4 968 163.
2013
2014
R1 597 235
R3 482 580
January
February
R 898 299
R 886 992
March
R1 044 431
R598 591
Total
R3 539 966
R4 968 163
YOY
118.04%
-1.26%
-42.69%
40.34%
The first quarter of 2013 and 2014 had very similar messaging year on year: ITB reporting, accolades and
Summer Season messaging. Although February and March 2014 saw less exposure than the same period
in 2013, TV coverage in January 2014, as well as messaging around CT accolades on radio, has bumped
this quarter’s ROI figure up.
PR Highlights:
 PR opportunities because of the amount of accolades received - World Design Capital 2014, New
York Times Number One, Lonely Planet World’s Best, CondeNast Traveller Gold List, Tripadvisor
Traveller’s Choice etc.
 Proactive PR via Long Lead Press Releases on Food and Family well received
 Summer Season messaging was picked up very well via broadcast channels. Attractions – like
Table Mountain – saw record visitor arrivals this past summêr.
Please click here to access a dropbox folder to see some press clipping and audio examples of this
quarter’s coverage.
29
Newsletters & Newsflashes:
 One Trade Newsletter was sent to our database in February, positioning Cape Town as a
destination that is continuously offering new and unique exciting offerings to visitors, especially
for the returning visitor familiar with the destination. Even though the opening rate of the Trade
Newsletter dropped slightly, the click-through rate grew with 36.34% indicating a captured
audience being drawn in to the toolkit – which is the main aim of the newsletter
J.

Three monthly Industry Newsletters were issued over the last quarter, showing increased
engagement from members compared to the previous year, looking at the opening and clickthrough rates. Newsflashes in the form of emails and SMS were also sent to members, also
indicating increased interaction from members, with a growth of more than 7% in opening rate.

Team Newsletters were sent each month, now also including a Q&A section featuring a different
Board Member each month, to familiarise the team with the Board and create a greater sense of
inclusivity and partnership.
Projects
Mobile Visitor Vehicle:
The Mercedes panel van has been registered and currently in the installation phase with a projected date
of delivery on 25 April 2014. The vehicle name “#Thando” has been trademarked and registered and
forms a persona to the vehicle in order to gain an emotional affiliation and recognised brand amongst
local, domestic and international visitors.
The vehicle will be launched to selected stakeholders, partners and media at the Opening Ceremony of
World Travel Market Africa, on Friday – 2 May 2014. The mobile vehicle launch will form part of the
opening ceremony, scheduled for 11am from the CTT expo stand, where the Deputy Mayor of Cape Town
and our CEO, Enver Duminy, will unveil the vehicle to the guests attending. Industry launch planned for
the next industry session on 29 May 2014, where members will have the opportunity to see and engage
with the mobile visitor vehicle, as a “First in Africa” concept.
30
Overall visual concept of the mobile visitor vehicle:
The Official Cape Town Visitors’ Guide 2015:
An online visitor survey is currently underway, in order to gauge visitor satisfaction, user friendliness and
overall feedback on the 2014 Visitors Guide. The Business Plan for 2014-2016, which outlines a decrease
in expenses over time by smarter execution of the visitors guide over a 3 year plan, has been approved by
Finco. As part of this plan, a visitor services APP is envisaged for build by the end of 2014. Sales for the
2015 visitors guide advertisement sales has gone “live” mid-March, with a 15% overall sales target
reached by end March 2014.
Rate Card for the Official Cape Town Visitors’ Guide 2015:
31
K. Partnerships
Strategic Partnerships:
Quarterly meetings were held with all strategic partners. Overall feedback received has been
favourable. A business model for the Strategic partnerships are being envisaged, but has not been
approved as yet.
L. Challenges
Overall: Resource has been a challenge, with the absence of both a PR & Comms Manager and
E-marketing manager as well as the resignation of our online community manager. Having said
that the team has been very willing to step up and take on additional responsibility, however
resources are stretched heading into a very busy quarter.
Media Hosting: There has been a lack in hosting referrals from Cape Town Design and as a
result we have not been able to spend the budget allocated to this. We are looking at doing a
proactive hosting with China in order to compensate for this.
New supplier’s pilot project: There have been some teething issues, but these have been
discussed with the CEO and alternatives have been looked at.
Projects: It has been challenging executing the mobile visitor vehicle, with many changes in
direction along the way. This has caused many delays and has further limited resources spent
on other demanding projects which also require attention.
E-marketing & Social Media:
 Facebook’s strategy to limit external links showing in the News Feeds of fans and its’
roll-out of monetisation strategy (to limit the % of fans a page is permitted to reach) will
result in a downward slope engagement figures and referral traffic to the website. In
order to resolve this issue, a marketing budget would need to be invested in continuous
Facebook campaigns.
The inclusion of #welovecapetown messaging beyond that agreed to with the City, has
put additional strain onto an already under-resourced e-Marketing department

With high season, Partner messaging and mega events taking place in the City, content
coverage remains an issue as staffing resources are limited. In order to alleviate this issue,
a plan to up skill various CTT staff and reviving the guest writers’ program, will be
adopted for future.

The back-log of 300+ static content pages remains a challenging issue, with an already
under-resourced team. A plan to fix the issue within a deadline date will be investigated
going forward.
32
M. The Quarter Ahead



Content:
o
Finalisation of the content workshop to look at how to improve the quality of our content
and engagement to ensure we retain thought leadership status
o
The content team will be focused on implementing the Autumn content plan. Content
themes are as follows: April – 20 years of freedom; May – Food & Wine; June – wellness. In
addition they will be seeding WDC 2014 and Gold Partner content as well as providing
content and social media support to the Events team for Taste of Cape Town, Two Oceans
Marathon, Good Food&Wine Show, the Cape Town Jive Funny Festival etc.
o
YouTube strategy to commence – to be implemented by iProspect.
Trade & Campaigns: April to June is a busy time for the team with the following activities going
live:
o
WTM Africa, 2nd – 3rd May 14: CTT to exhibit at the Trade Show and host up to 240
hosted buyers with pre and post tours arranged for the 1st and 4th May 2014.
o
Indaba, 10th – 12th May 14: CTT to exhibit at Indaba on Wesgro’s pavilion.
o
Winter campaign: CTT’s and Thompson Holidays annual winter campaign launches in
May 14.
o
SA Tourism’s China Road Show, 23rd – 27th June 14: 2 x CTT reps to attend the Road
Show in 4 cities (Hong Kong, Chengdu, Shenyang and Beijing), producing relevant
collateral to match member products with the habits of the Chinese traveller.
o
Toolkit audit: Full audit of all Toolkit content to be conducted in order to ensure that
content is accurate and up to date. In addition, any gaps in content to be identified
and actioned.
E-Marketing: Key projects are due to go live by the end of the FY 2013/14:
o
Website navigation and usability: CTT’s website to be split by June 14 in order to
serve B2B and B2C audiences effectively. In addition, navigation usability to be
improved in order to enhance and facilitate the user experience.
o
Commercialisation of website: CTT’s website to become an ‘Affiliate partner’ to a
range of 3rd party travel related suppliers (e.g. flights, accommodation and car hire), in
order to generate commission from bookings that originate from
www.capetown.travel.
o
‘In-destination city guide’ mobile app: CTT to work in partnership with ‘Digital
Tourism Think Tank’ (DTTT) in order to fully scope the requirements of CTT’s mobile
app, bench marketing against best in market and best practice.
o
Link building project: Budget has been allocated in order for CTT to effectively
increase qualified traffic to the website, by targeting activity that will – over time –
increase the number of quality backlinks from other websites to CTT’s website.
Hosting:
o Plans for a targeted media hosting within our emerging market, namely China are
underway, and scheduled for June 2014.
33
Projects & Partnerships:
o Delivery and event launch of the mobile visitor vehicle.
o To achieve 15% sales target on the visitors guide sales for the month of April 2014.
o Business Model for Strategic partnerships to be prioritised, with feedback sessions to
be held with various partners.
34
N. Appendix 6
Media
Publication
Circulation / Readership
Market Source
Troy
Alexander
Conde Nast Traveller: Details.com
Unique visitors/month: 412 097
USA
Peter
Drennan
Ocean Home Magazine
Distribution: 80 000/
readership: 216 000
UK
Jennie Nunn
AFAR Magazine, Brides California,
San Francisco Magazine
circulation:175 000 /
readership 700 000
USA
Bethany
Betzler
The Monocle
circulation: 150,000/
readership: 70,000
UK
Lisa Grainger
The Guardian
circulation: 4.7K/readership:
10.4K
UK
The Newspaper
40 900 subscribers
Denmark
www.bungalow5.dk
Unique visitors/month: 46 000+
Allan Torp
Page views: 225 000
Iain Mallory
www.malloryontravel.com
twitter: 52 200/Instagram 2 222
UK, USA
Steve
McKenna
Virgin Voyeur Inflight Magazine
circulation: 79,000/readership:
461,000
Australia
YHA Backpacker Essentials
circulation: 24, 000/readership:
60,000
Michael
Walters
Magazine
Belle Magazine
The Telegraph
circulation: 44,
534/readership: 138,000
circulation: 541,036/readership:
1,346,000
UK
circulation: 541,036/
readership: 1,346,000
UK
circulation: 150 000/
readership:15 000
Singapore
Graham
Boynton
Conde Nast Traveller
Sanjay
Surana
Australia
Robb Report
35
46mil unique us visitors pm
78mil unique global visitors
Huffington Post
Travel Weekly
Meera
Dattani
Helen
Atkinson
Wood
Sherelle
Jacobs
International
UK
World Travel Guide
1 mil unique visitors p/m
UK/German
Rough Guides
3.3mil page views p/m
International
Mail on Sunday
circulation:15 000
UK
circulation:90 000/
readership:70 0000
circulation:120 000
Sawubona
The European
36
international
Europe
7. INDUSTRY SERVICES
A. Quarterly Overview
Focus of the three months under review was recruitment. All members was renewed and the once
that were not renewed by end December was cancelled, therefor all members on the database is
fully paid up. We saw 153 cancellations during this quarter compared to 376 cancellations in Q3
2013. The cancellation number is high because December saw the end of the renewal period and
all members who were in 90 days arrears were cancelled. The top 3 reasons for cancellations were
non-payment of fees, businesses closed down and non-renewal. Non-payment of fees refers to
members who did not pay renewal fee at the end of the 90 day period as per contract. CTT then
cancelled membership based on non-payment of fees. See graph 1, Appendix A.
39 new member recruitments were recorded for this quarter which bring the total membership
base to 1 246.
As part of the retention a big focus was on member engagements and communication through
networking, coffee and connect sessions, retention phone calls, newsletters, newsflashes, business
support, etc. These actions resulted in 14 313 member communications. The bulk of these (86%)
are still via emails, newsflashes and newsletters with 14% of interactions being one on one. In the
previous quarter 18 820 member engagements were recorded. Our interaction/communication for
Q3 decreased because it was high season and we planned no networking events for January and
February. The number of face to face interactions increased with 5% compared to previous
quarter.
Income is 1% behind target YTD. This is same variance compared to the end of Q3 2013 income.
See graph 2, Appendix A for income comparison.
15 Complaints against members were recorded during this quarter. All were resolved.
B. Highlights for the Quarter (Jan ’14 – Mar ’14)

New membership model in discussion

Integration with Visitor Services to form Tourism Services Business unit is well underway

Very positive member feedback on the coffee & connect session (member quotes used in
newsletter)
C. Areas of concerns / development

Higher than expected cancellation after 90 days reminder.

Drop in number of Emerging Entrepreneur (EE) members. This is mainly a drop off in year 3 as
by then EE members are paying full membership (discounted in year 1 and 2). This will be
addressed in the proposed new membership model.
D. The Quarter Ahead
Focus for the next quarter will be on the below:
 Propose new membership model

Recruitment to stay on track with targets
37

Tourism Services integration

Business support toolkit

Board Development Fund implementation

New financial year budget and tactical plan
38
E. Appendix 7
Reasons for cancelations: Year on year comparison
324
350
300
250
200
140
150
100
37
50
6
5
4
0
Business closed down
No Renewal
Q3 2014
Non Payment of fees
Q3 2013
Graph 1: Reasons for cancelations: year on year comparison
Year on year income comparison
1867818
2000000
1800000
1600000
1400000
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
162000
147644
Actual
Target
Q3 2013
110065
Actual
162000
Target
Q3 2014
YTD 2013 YTD2014
Graph 2: Income comparison – year on year
39
1868933
8. VISITOR SERVICES
A. Quarterly Overview
Visitor numbers for the combined network showed a 1% increase compared to the same quarter in
2013. The entire network (incl. accredited VIC’s) interacted with 78 023 visitors during this quarter
which is a 27% increase on previous quarter (Q2, Oct –Dec 2013). The CTT VIC’s contributed 34 570
over the counter interactions to the total number of interactions. Enquiries for the network showed
an increase of 9% compared to the previous quarter and 8% increase compared to same quarter
previous year. See Appendix A, table1 and graph 1 attached for detail.
Bookable enquiries decreased with 11% year on year and increase with 10% compared to the
previous quarter (Q2). Conversation ratio of 99% was achieved which resulted in commission to the
value of R348 168.00 for the quarter. This is 26% more commission than Q3 2013. Self-Generated
income to the value of R722 985.00 was generated during this quarter, which is exceeding the target
for the quarter with 17%. R639 360.00 self-generated income was generated in the same quarter in
2013, which means that 13% more income was generated year on year.
SANParks commission paid to CTT for Q3 amounts to R158 948 which is 30% below the target for
reporting period.
Performance measured against Visitor Services objectives:
• Reach self-generated income target of R2, 15 mil
As at end of Q3 R1 718 574 has been reached. This is 1% ahead of YTD target.
• Decrease operational expenses year on year with 5%
Finance team is busy preparing accurate business unit reports that will show all cost associated
with Visitor Services. Will then be able to report accurately on this.
• Increase foot traffic to the CTT network year on year with 10%
To achieve this target the network need to record 272 000 visitors for the year. At the end of
Q3 we have had 216 404 visitors to the network. The variance on the annual target is 55 596
and I am confident that the target will be reached at the end of the financial year.
• Maintain 90% service excellence measured through Mystery Shopper program
The average score achieved for Q3 is 86% which is below target and being addressed with the
Area Supervisors. The Central area is scoring the lowest of the areas.
B. Highlights for the Quarter (Jan ’14 – Mar ’14)
o
Visitor Services team is doing extremely well with commission and exceeding targets
o
Integration as Tourism Services unit in process
C. Areas of concerns / development
•
SANParks income remains a concern
•
Service Excellent measured by the Mystery Shopper program is not reaching the target of 90%
average across the network. This is being addressed with the team.
40
D. The Quarter Ahead
Focus for the next quarter will be on the below:
•
VS Strategy next steps and planning for new financial year. This includes looking at next steps of
the mobile VIC concept.
•
Tactical and operational plans for new financial year
•
Optimising capacity of the VS frontline team
Enquiry Comparison: Entire network
100000
77487
80000
78023
61581
60000
40000
34304 35972 33850
20000
1877 2957 1704
0
Tel
Q3 2013
Email
Q3 2014
Over the counter
Previous Quarter
Q2 2013/2014
Graph 1: Quarter on Quarter and year on year comparison
41
E. Appendix 8
Tel
Email
Over the counter
Bookable enquiries
Bookings
Commission
Retail
Q3
Jan - March 2013
7773
715
37763
1281
1010
R
275 574.00
R
84 632.00
CTT Network
Accredited VIC's
Combined network
Q3
Previous Quarter
Q3
Q3
Previous Quarter
Q3
Q3
Previous Quarter
Jan - March 2014
Oct - Dec 2013
Jan - March 2013 Jan - March 2014
Oct - Dec 2013
Jan - March 2013 Jan - March 2014
Oct - Dec 2013
6909
6432
26531
29063
28465
34304
35972
33850
1616
1112
1162
1341
1141
1877
2957
1704
34570
32873
39724
43453
39043
77487
78023
61581
1134
1028
1127
947
R
348 168.00 R
259 448.00
R
124 953.00 R
93 260.00
Table 1: Visitor, enquiries and bookings. Quarter on Quarter and year on year comparison
42
43