The Cook-Up Kamammas — derived from the Xhosa words emqolweni Kamamma, meaning to carry a baby on your back — blew the socks off everyone at Indaba 2004 with their unique brand of cooking and a demonstration of how transformation in the tourism industry in South Africa is truly empowering.
Initiated by travel route developer Dreamcatcher, the Kamammas offer visitors the opportunity to stay in their homes and sample the rich flavours of their culture and heritage.
Homestays are offered in each of the nine provinces, with the result that the Kamammas are providing not just for tourists, but for their communities, managing home-based restaurants and bed-and-breakfast establishments.
As SA Tourism CEO Cheryl Carolus puts it, the Kamammas are South Africa’s ”best-kept secret”. Carolus herself donned an apron and rustled up some pumpkin fritters for hungry Indaba delegates, who waited patiently in line for the chance to tuck into the contents of the several large pots.
The Kamammas’ efforts earned them the Best Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises Stand Award — a crowning moment that defined this year’s Indaba. The Kamammas weren’t alone. Sharing the provincial stands in the main hall of the Durban Exhibition Centre were a record number of small to medium and black empowerment enterprises.
Perhaps the most important stride forward at the Indaba was the launch of the domestic tourism growth strategy, aimed at boosting local trade over the next three years.
Seven domestic market consumer segments have been identified: young and upcoming; independent young couples and families; striving families; well-off homely couples; home-based low-income couples; basic needs older families; and golden active couples.
South Africa’s tourism products have also been segmented, representing seven types of travel within the country: city breaks; bush retreats; coastal getaways; mountain escapes; cultural discoveries; countryside meanders, and event wonders.
Six strategic objectives have been formulated around these segments, which will be implemented at national, provincial and local level:
The matching of specific products with consumer segments;
Value for money will become a primary concern with the promotion of short breaks, as well as encouraging emerging and established travellers to stay longer;
Emerging segments will be tapped into by providing more group travel options, a travel voucher system and more affordable breaks;
Year-round travel will be promoted with more trips outside of school holidays being encouraged with quiet season specials and special winter experiences;
Greater levels of interprovincial travel will be encouraged with more touring options, the publicising of ”hidden secrets” and the provision of new tourism experiences; and
Events will be used to help reduce seasonality, and full package options will be provided with the events.
An implementation plan will be rolled out next month, which will promote the domestic tourism brand — aimed at making travel in South Africa ”sexy” to South Africans — supported by ongoing research, strategic planning and investment in partnerships in both the public and private sectors of the tourism industry.
Finally, it seems, the government is waking up to the fact that South Africans contribute about R47-billion each year to the income derived from tourism. That’s almost as much as the R53,9-billion international visitors bring in.
Hopefully, by next year’s Indaba this ground-breaking strategy should be starting to reap rewards.