CRAFT AND THE TOURISM MARKET

SHERYL OZINSKY
Speech to the Craft Partnership Meeting on 3 September 2003

I've been lucky enough to have met many inspirational people - one of them is Anita Roddick of Body Shop fame who said two things that stuck with me when I heard her speak in Cape Town a while ago. She said: "If you think that you're too small to make a difference, you haven't spent a night with a mosquito", and speaking about the values of freedom and fairness she said - "we are surrounded by inequalities, but we must react with sympathy, and then act with imagination, hope and courage, because if we want things to change they can change!"

I believe that craft and design play an essential role in making those differences that Anita Roddick referred to. In my opinion, creative people represent a profound new force in the economy and life of Cape Town and the Western Cape.

In fact, Newsweek Magazine alluded to this last year when they identified Cape Town as one of the 8 new cultural meccas in the world. They were referring to our film and advertising industries, but there is no reason why our crafts should not be making the same headlines!

Someone once said:

"The greatest resource possessed by a nation is the imagination of its people. Imagination nourishes invention, economic advantage, scientific discovery, jobs, communities and a more secure society.

The arts are the principal trainers of the imagination. They can enrich, not replace, the literacy, numeracy, science and technology we need for prosperity."

Therefore, the role of artists and crafters cannot be overemphasised. Each of you adds enormously to the unique texture that is Cape Town, enriching our own lives and adding extra dimensions, stories and experiences for residents and visitors to our City.

The ability of artists, craft or cultural projects to lift the eyes and thoughts and potential of people in local communities, to celebrate levels of excellence, and to act as role models for their peer groups can be demonstrated at almost every level in our region.

Look at what happens during the Cape Town Festival or the Klein Karoo Kunste Fees, when a whole town becomes alive with more people and activity.

In such instances, the impact on the social progress of an entire town or city can be remarkable: all started off by artistic, cultural or creative activity.

And cultural activities are being increasingly recognised by this city as a way of attracting visitors to an area throughout the year. (mention seasonality)

And when one thinks about it carefully, the relationship between tourism and the arts is obvious. In a global culture of branded commodities, many tourists are looking for unique expressions of local culture - they want to experience the spirit, the soul, and character of a destination - what lies beneath the surface.

Arts and craft, are in fact, a route to this experience. Diverse in medium and motivation, - they speak a language that needs no translation - they cross cultural boundaries with ease, but at the same time remain true to particular social and historical contexts.

Tourists gain insight into a place mediated by the art and craft that they purchase in our shops and markets.

There is no doubt that culture and cultural expression have been fundamental in establishing South Africa as a leading tourist destination in the world right now - really has helped to build the brand!

Now tourism to South Africa and Cape Town in particular has been defying gravity over the course of the last 2 years, as other destinations like Sydney are reeling from one of the worst tourism periods in their history. In actual fact, South Africa is currently, together with Argentina, the fastest growing tourism destination in the world.

In the light of the global tourism slowdown experienced since 9/11, with most destinations in the world, particularly those in Asia, today struggling to attract even the same number of visitors that they did in 2000, SA and CT's growth is no small feat. It is important that we recognize and celebrate the success we have had in growing the tourism industry, but that we don't stop there.

THE TOURISM SCENARIO

  • Did you know that South Africa is the leading destination in Africa in terms of the number of foreign tourist arrivals we receive each year? In 2002, we received about 6,4 million foreign arrivals, more than Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, the other main tourist attracting countries on the continent.

  • To put the 6,4 million foreign tourist arrivals in a global context, France, the number one international destination in terms of the number of foreign arrivals received, had in the region of 77 million foreign arrivals in 2002.

    So we received less than 10% of the number of foreign arrivals that France did last year!

  • The terms "foreign arrivals" or "international arrivals" refer to arrivals to South Africa from outside of our country. Of the 6,4 million foreign arrivals we received from other countries in 2002, less than 1.8 million were overseas arrivals. We refer to arrivals from outside of the continent as "overseas" arrivals.

    In fact, arrivals from African countries comprise about 70% of total foreign arrivals that we receive each year in South Africa (4.6 million). Key African source markets for South Africa are the SADC countries, especially Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana.

    The United Kingdom continues to be our main overseas source market, followed by Germany, the United States, France and the Netherlands, in that order.

    To be precise, in 2002, we received just over 442 000 UK tourists, 250 000 German tourists, 183 000 US tourists, 112 000 French tourists and 110 000 Dutch tourists in South Africa.

    Typically far more attention is paid to foreign visitors to our country than domestic tourists. This is because foreign visitors spend a lot more per person than their local counterparts and because domestic tourism is growing more slowly than foreign tourism. Domestic tourism typically grows in line with economic growth in the economy. Foreign Tourists spent R17.3 billion / Domestic Tourists R2.9 billion.

    Despite this, domestic tourism is the backbone of the tourism economy in South Africa. I believe a crucial need exists for us to pay more attention to our domestic market, comprising 60% of all tourism receipts in SA. So domestic tourists should also be considered by the craft industries, along with African tourists and overseas tourists.

    FOREIGN VISITORS TO THE W CAPE SPENT R17,3 BILLION BROKEN DOWN AS FOLLOWS:

  • 43% accommodation (R7.4 billion)
  • R3.5 billion on local transport
  • R2.9 billion on food and beverage
  • R3.5 billion on recreation and entertainment

    Domestic breakdown per day (2001 figures):
          R437
  • R182 on transport
  • R97 on accommodation
  • R105 on food and beverage
  • R24 on recreation, entertainment and gifts
  • The average length of stay in the Western Cape is 9.1 days.

    The most popular attractions for foreign visitors in the Western Cape are the V & A Waterfront, Table Mountain, Cape Point, the Wine Route, Robben Island and Kirstenbosch.

    Interestingly, however, these attractions are receiving a decreasing percentage of total visitors to the Western Cape, which might signify the number of return visitors to the Cape who are looking for new experiences and attractions. This gives you many opportunities that I will mention later.

    No substantial research has been conducted nationally or provincially to look at the shopping habits of visitors. However SA Tourism conducted research on tourists departing South Africa by air and discovered that foreign tourists spent , on average, between R12 000 and R14 000 per person in South Africa while in SA. This figure excludes expenditure made before the trip on things like flights.

    We need to do some more work in South Africa in researching specific sectors, like craft and design, in order understand the trends and patterns, so that we can plan appropriately. That should follow with the changes taking place in the framework for tourism marketing locally and provincially.

    What is crucial is that in order to continue to develop our craft and design industry, all the constituent role-players need to work together - the retailers, the tourism authorities, the craft and design associations and organizations, the tour operators, etc.

    SOME EXAMPLES

  • In India a huge buyers conference is held regularly to bring crafters together with foreign retailers to ensure that products are developed that will sell in foreign markets and that they are of an appropriate design and quality.

  • An integrated and cooperative approach is essential if we want to turn South Africa into a craft and design destination par excellence. Working with the whole supply chain, from you, the crafters, to the retailers, to the organizations representing tourists, will ensure that the product that is developed is appropriate for the market, and that products actually reach the market.

  • Perhaps some sort of Craft Tourism National Forum, representing these different interest groups, could be established. This forum can be the collective body that decides on an overarching strategy and collaborative marketing initiatives, to be undertaken in respect of developing and marketing craft and design products.

  • In Dubai, definitely a destination that has done much to establish itself as a shopping tourist's dream, all the shopping centres speak with one voice and work together to organise the annual Shopping Festival. Common branding and discounts occur across all stores. We could launch an annual Craft Festival in South Africa, working across all the established centres, to promote this sector of the economy to foreign and domestic tourists.

  • In tourism, the product offering is key. Product offering refers not only to the actual products for sale, in the case of craft and design pieces, but the location, service levels, price, supporting products and "feel" or "style" of the experience. In other words the whole shopping for crafts experience that is provided to tourists. So the experience that includes the purchase of craft pieces needs to be right in order for it to succeed. Flea markets, or informal markets, are one way of providing a shopping experience that will appeal to the visitor and satisfy their demand for a variety of goods.

  • Think of the markets that are very popular tourist attractions in other global destinations. Did you know that London has more than 300 markets, selling everything from antiques and exotic ingredients to retro fashion and art. Think of Camden or Portobello road markets two of the most famous. Clothes, organic food, music, antiques, you name it, you can find a market (or usually more than one) that will sell it.

  • Green Market Square and Green Point Markets need to be re-branded and marketed properly in terms of their uniqueness.

  • We could also introduce additional markets that concentrate on one sort of product or another, like a monthly ceramics market, or textile market, selling local products - this could be promoted to both domestic and international visitors.

  • With regard to possible product offering opportunities, developing craft precincts that are thematic - such as a gold precinct, or an African arts and crafts precinct, etc, also comes to mind. By this I mean having all the crafters producing a certain type of product, in one location so that visitors can experience an array of similar and complimentary products and that they can be sure to achieve the kind of shopping experience they are looking for.

    There is nothing more frustrating for tourists who are keen to find something to spend their money on, and perhaps have an idea of what that might be, but are unable to find it.

    Precincts make it easy for tourists to identify where to go to see a variety of products that might be of interest to them.

    In the case of the craft and design sector it is critical to work together to attract volumes of visitors. Other than precincts, the creation of a route, in a region, can help to link products together to develop the critical mass to attract visitors. Think of the Midlands Meander and the success that this route has achieved for participating establishments. Together the establishments are able to market themselves more effectively.

  • Developing shopping maps and publications, such as the recently launched Shop! In South Africa Magazine, are also important ways of communicating the product to the market. There is a lot that remains to be done to get the message out to customers in South Africa, with few dedicated shopping publications.

  • Just think of some of the packaging opportunities: we could develop a "limousine craft shopping tour" for the top end of the market. Or a "meet the makers" tour for tourists who would like to see crafters making their wares.

  • The cruise-liner market is one that presents a particular opportunity for the craft and designer industry. Passengers typically have limited time and lots of money to spend, with no baggage restrictions. Creating distinct packages to take these passengers to local craft outlets, or a central outlet displaying many local crafters work, could significantly boost sales.

  • In addition, Cape Town, with the opening of the CTICC, will be attracting more business tourists to the city. Business tourists typically have less time to see the sights, as they will be in a conference all day. They may have a day or two before or after the conference to visit attractions. And in all likelihood they won't venture much further than the established attractions of the Waterfront, Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch, the Wine Route and Cape Point. So it is critical that your craft work is sold in the retail components of those attractions.

  • Perhaps the Cape Craft and Design Institute could again play a strategic role in negotiating preferable deals on behalf of emerging Cape Crafters at these attractions. The established attractions should be urged to work with emerging crafters as part of their own corporate social responsibility - and in so doing to support local economic development and sustainability.

  • Also it would be great to get local craft and design goods sold in hotel shops - few hotel shops that I have seen offer an exciting range of locally made goods. Perhaps the proposed National Craft Tourist Forum could develop a relationship with national hotel groups such as Southern Sun and Protea, to jazz up their shops with some local colour and character.

  • In addition, perhaps some sort of quality standard should be developed for the crafting industry that grades goods, or alternatively, provides goods that meet an acceptable standard with a trademark. Quality and workmanship is key in providing a product that meets and exceeds expectations.

  • Ensuring an appropriate array of Cape craft and design products at Cape Town International's duty free lounge should also be ensured. And equally craft should be on display and for sale at major visitor information centers, such as Cape Town Tourism, as well as visitor gateway centers to the region, to be developed on the N1 and N2.

  • Another opportunity is the development of a living craft museum that enables visitors to see the production of craft and to purchase the finished product. Perhaps short courses and a lecture series could also be introduced for visitors who want to learn the techniques.

  • Domestic tourists are as important, if not more important, than foreign tourists. So, appropriate product and marketing techniques need to be put in place for South Africans, too. We are already seeing African design elements increasingly incorporated into interior design and African art becoming increasingly popular. Also there is lots of talk of buying local, with initiatives such as Proudly South African. It is important that the domestic media, in particular, magazines that promote design, such as House and Leisure, etc. give significant exposure to local craft and they are starting to do just that. Perhaps a regular section profiling emerging crafters could be introduced in these publications.

  • Our craft and design can be up there with the best in the world and could generate more employment and income for South Africans. Evidence of this was the LOSA exhibition held at Sotheby's in London last year.

    The exhibition was the culmination of a project between London and South Africa that saw a few top British designers work with a number of South African craft initiatives to develop better crafting techniques and to design original, contemporary quality products that would appeal to a discerning international market.

    There is no reason why this should not be a regular occurrence.

    With the current creation of a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO), comprising all the previously fragmented tourism marketing bodies in Cape Town and the Province, we hope to be able to undertake focused research and to use this to develop products and market more intelligently, more creatively, more purposefully.

    I also believe that it will become increasingly crucial for organizations such as SA Tourism and the new DMO in Cape Town to leverage off other sectors and to seek marketing partnerships with associations and institutes such as the Cape Craft and Design Institute, so as to undertake collaborative cross marketing initiatives and to pursue cost effective, mutually beneficial marketing activities.

    Thank you