CREATING A POSITIVE
PERCEPTION OF SAFE AND SECURE
TRAVEL
TO AFRICA BY
INFLUENCING YOUR CLIENT'S DESTINATION SELECTION
by Helen C. Broadus Contrary to popular belief, the
travel and tourism business to Africa has not been setback
significantly by the recent political, humanitarian and
environmental crises on the Continent, according to several
U.S.-based travel agencies and wholesalers specializing in
African tours. They credit keeping this market viable if not
flourishing in a large degree to the level of sophistication
of their clientele coupled with a renewed interest in
visiting Africa. However, many travel professionals and tour
operators have had to modify their travel and tourism
itineraries to avoid certain "hot spots" on the Continent
and media reports continue to come out of Africa and Europe
indicating a serious decline in tourism visits to
Africa.\ This disturbing trend has occurred
because of intense, negative-focused coverage in the media,
for the most part as well as a lack of marketing savvy from
the travel and tourism industry to put forward positive
messages to counteract the overwhelming amount of negative
messages. In my opinion, the travel and tourism industry
must work together with the media to showcase the natural,
cultural and historical tourism attractions of Africa rather
than devote precious time to reacting to negative images
about Africa. Perhaps, we need to enlist the expertise of a
lobbying consultant in order to redefine our products and
services much like what other travel and tourism industry
groups have done in other regions which have proven to be
successful. More importantly, travel and tourism
professionals alike should become more educated about
geography and current events in Africa. These factors when
combined will enable travelers to Africa to trust their
travel professional's recommendations, especially if we are
perceived to have their best interest at heart. Travel professionals who specialize
in Africa will also find that their knowledge of the
promoted destinations pays off in terms of building client
confidence in their choice of a tour. When a travel
professional can speak to his/her client with authority
based on experience and expertise (due in a large part to
actually visiting the African venues) the client will be
more inclined to trust their judgment and recommendations.
Likewise, when a travel professional has firmly established
relationships with many African-based tour operators, the
client will have their confidence reinforced. It should also
be noted that the vast majority of popular venues in Africa
are located far from areas where it would be deemed
inappropriate or unsafe to send the client. What this
basically means is that the tourist circuit is mainly
unaffected and people should be encouraged to travel to
Africa. As a precaution, travel professionals
should never send their clients anywhere that poses a real
threat to their health, safety and peace of mind. Careful
research and proven due diligence on the part of the travel
professional should be the foundation of advising against
travel to any destination in the world and not just to
Africa! Another option should be to recommend modifications
to the proposed travel and tourism itineraries &endash; by
offering alternative destinations if the situation warrants.
Travel professionals and tour operators can also consider
waiving all penalties and/or maintaining this year's rates
for its clients who choose to rebook for next
year. While all of the above strategies and
suggestions will not guarantee one hundred percent
satisfaction with your clients who are interested in
traveling to Africa, it will demonstrate to them your
commitment and awareness of the necessity to combine that
adventure of a lifetime with appropriate safety and security
safeguards. Africa in general is poised for a breakthrough
and continues to offer great opportunities for growth in the
travel and tourism industry. The infrastructure is being
improved upon and the people are more tourism-oriented. In
closing, if you adequately prepare yourself and your client
for a safe and secure journey to Africa they will be able to
enjoy a wonderful vacation with all of the excitement and
adventure that they desire. Helen C. Broadus is the President and
co-owner of Venue International Professionals, Inc. (VIP) a
full service travel and tourism consulting firm based in the
Washington Metropolitan Area. To learn more about how to
successfully market tourism destinations to the Continent of
Africa to your clients please call 1-877-TO-VENUE or send an
e-mail to vipinc@erols.com.
Today's
global travelers are better informed than ever before,
whether traveling for business or leisure, they want the
best possible service at the best possible price. When it
comes to Africa, they also want to be reassured that they
can travel to the Continent with the best possible safety
and security measures in place. As a result of this added
concern, they will undoubtedly turn to you, the trusted
travel professional, to help them make the right choice for
all of the right reasons. Consequently, in order to
successfully market Africa to your clients, a travel
professional or tour operator must be able to interpret,
analyze and present news, trends, destinations and much more
relevant information in a way that will not only satisfy the
client's concerns about safety and security but ultimately
convince them to buy the package from you.
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