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CREATING
A POSITIVE PERCEPTION OF SAFE AND SECURE TRAVEL TO AFRICA BY
INFLUENCING YOUR CLIENT'S DESTINATION SELECTION
by Helen C.
Broadus
 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!
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.
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