SA Tourism wins Gold for Brand Leadership

The awards recognise development mandate delivery; best practice; transparency and efficacy. They are made by Avusa Media in association with the Brand Leadership Academy and TNS Research Surveys.

Thebe Ikalafeng, founder of the Brand Leadership Academy said successful state owned agencies, such as South African Tourism, engage with their customers and stakeholders to make a real difference to their lives and to their businesses. “To remain relevant, they are learning the best of the private sector - efficacy, accountability and delivering on their promises.”

Not hit and miss

Didi Moyle, COO and acting CEO of South African Tourism said that establishing a strong destination brand and delivering on growth mandates for tourism has been anything but a hit-and-miss affair.

“Our destination brand has grown through careful planning, precise campaign delivery and through understanding both the leisure travel needs of our key markets as well as the business challenges and aspirations of the South African travel and tourism industry. This has been work that has unfolded over a number of years. It has relied on partnerships with many people and organisations. And we celebrate our milestones and triumphs with each of them.”

World Cup welcomed

Destination South Africa, she added, has much to be grateful for. “We have a truly magnificent product to market to the world. We work with a dedicated, energetic and inspired industry. We welcome the world next year for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and South Africa's global profile will benefit hugely from this exposure. We expect a television audience of approximately 26 billion people. Our brand, our destination offerings, and the professionalism of our industry is already established. We need to take this work forward in the next year to ensure our brand's vitality and the growth of our industry in the months and years following 2010.

“It's an exciting time for us all. Winning this award is an acknowledgement of the work many, many people have done and are committed to continuing.”

Winners were selected based on TNS and Brand Leadership Academy independent research conducted amongst a national sample of 1500 South African adults living in metropolitan, smaller urban and rural areas in all provinces, making the Public Sector Excellence Awards community based and people focused.