In South Africa, domestic travel has long been regarded as the lesser cousin of regional and international travel, like elsewhere globally. Yet with the advent of Covid-19, the country saw this important segment become a saviour of the entire tourism industry. Overnight, almost every player suddenly woke up to realize how important local travel is and its value became high-end with marketing budgets and packages being worked out round the clock. As a means to national tourism recovery, the sector has once again been on the top national agenda, providing more than a lifeline for the industry. Inward focus and service excellence: Waldo Adams, Executive Director at Economic Development Solutions (EDS), a company which has provided back-office systems to the travel industry, commented recently that in the absence of international travellers, and for the sector to recover, there needed to be a concerted inward focus on marketing South Africa to South Africans. “To help achieve this, we need our airlines to start flying again and preferably at competitive rates. Similarly, hotels, game parks, and companies that offer recreational activities should re-look at their pricing models to make it more affordable for locals to travel,” Adams had said. More importantly, a huge emphasis was needed to be placed on service excellence, which especially boded well when foreign tourists started to return. “In South Africa, we need to focus on the training and development of our tourism staff to ensure that they provide excellent quality levels…
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