Mossel Bay Tourism exhibits in the Netherlands

Mossel Bay Tourism has begun its annual European marketing season by exhibiting at the Vakantiebeurs 2010 in Utrecht, in the Netherlands.

The show, the fortieth in the series, is the largest of its kind in the region, and attracts both tourism professionals and the travelling public. It runs this year from the 12th to the 17th of January.

“Research last year, which corroborated the findings in 2008, showed that the majority of visitors to Vakantiebeurs planned to go on holiday an average of 2.5 times in 2009, and that 45% of them preferred to take their holidays outside Europe,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Chief Operations Officer, Marcia Holm, who is representing the town at this year’s show.

She said that the Vakantiebeurs welcomed 132,961 visitors in 2009 (down from 135,233 in 2008), and that the organisers were expecting a similar turnout this year – notwithstanding the current weather conditions in Europe, which put a damper on the first day which is, by tradition, the trade day.

Ms. Holm said, however, that her discussions so far had allowed her to detect clear trends for this year.

“Especially in the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa definitely has to consider its position in world tourism because high airfares and the generally high cost of accommodation throughout the country are putting many people off,” she said.

“However, the people I’ve spoken to have reacted well to the average cost of accommodation in Mossel Bay, and, of course, our beaches are a major draw card for Europeans – especially at a time like this when everyone here is freezing!”

Ms. Holm said that the majority of tourism professionals who visited the Vakantiebeurs were involved in investment decisions, and that about a quarter of them owned their own businesses. “This makes these people very important to Mossel Bay, as they’re in a strong position to influence travel to the town.

“In terms of the consumers who attend this event, last year’s research showed that they spend an average of €2,660 (R28,500) per person on their annual holidays, that 86% of them go on holiday at least twice a year, that 77% of them use the fair as source of information to book their holidays, and that 64% of them earn more than one and a half times the average income in the Netherlands – all of which should explain why we believe our presence at here is so important,” said Ms. Holm.

While she’s in Europe, Ms. Holm will also attend a South African Tourism Workshop for tour operators and travel agents, and will visit various sports tourism companies which will be bringing fans to South Africa for the World Cup.

“The Netherlands, Germany, and the UK remain our most important overseas source markets, and Mossel Bay will continue to defend them strongly,” she said. “This is important especially now, because we’re going to have to work doubly hard to retain our position once the World Cup is over.

“Our presence at the Vakantiebeurs is therefore an important part of our strategy to keep Mossel Bay firmly positioned in the minds of consumers and the travel trade.”

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