Travel Africa!

Destination marketing campaigns aimed at increasing travel to Africa in 2022 are in full swing. Rivania Govender, research specialist at Niche Partners, presents just some of the creatively competing contenders.

After two years of stagnation, the leisure and business tourism industry in Africa is attempting to bring back its foreign visitors with the most recent destination marketing efforts. Numerous African countries have developed campaigns to break free from clichés and reposition the continent as a modern, adventurous and business-savvy and market-ready destination.

As one of the sectors hardest hit by measures introduced to combat the spread of Covid-19 during 2020 and 2021, it would not be hyperbolic to say that the pandemic has represented the industry’s most difficult times in tourism and business events. However, much of the world has reopened to Africa by lifting travel bans, eliminating mandatory quarantine requirements, and resuming regular flights.

To capitalise on the reopening of global travel, several African countries have already developed strategic plans and campaigns to develop the sector as an economic opportunity and development catalyst. Niche Partners conducted an environmental scan of campaigns run by tourism authorities on the continent that are geared to encourage both business and leisure travellers into the continent.

Uganda

The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) launched the ‘Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa’ campaign, to challenge tourists to “take a deeper experience of the destination rather than the superficial one”. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni unveiled the brand in the nation’s capital, Kampala, in March 2022. After conducting market research for the new campaign, the UTB aims to position the country as a competitive destination and showcase a range and variety Uganda’s “diverse corners beyond the gorillas and the Big 5”.

South Africa

The ‘Live Again’ campaign was introduced by South African Tourism, the country’s destination marketing agency in February 2022. South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Lindiwe Sisulu, shared that the campaign announces to the world that South Africa is ready to welcome all visitors, and that resilience, industriousness and adaptation are all parts of the indomitable South African character.

Egypt

The Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority launched a new e-campaign on several social media platforms on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. For the summer of 2022, the ‘Follow the Sun’ marketing campaign will highlight several tourism sites in Egypt. The eight-week campaign will debut on a variety of social media sites, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, according to the State Information Service.

Morocco

In an effort to revitalise its tourism industry, Morocco has launched the ‘Kingdom of Light’ campaign to attract younger tourists. This initiative was launched by the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) with the goal of “strengthening Morocco’s trendy image, particularly among a new generation of travellers” and attracting visitors aged 25 to 59, including art enthusiasts and those drawn to beaches, discovering new cultures and experiencing nature.

Tourism has always been one of Morocco’s economic pillars, and the ONMT is eager to bolster the sector by expanding its focus and marketing efforts. France, Spain, Germany, the UK, USA, Israel, and countries in Africa and the Middle East are among the target markets.

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