Expert Advice from the (Not So Wacky) Wine Woman

Whether we are actively engaged in business, the hospitality industry or simply concerned with the neat and pleasing appearance of our towns, we cannot pretend to be disinterested when the word ‘tourism’ crops up. After all, it was only two years ago that, for the first time in the country’s history, tourism surpassed gold to become our top earner of foreign exchange.
In the Western Cape alone, about 10% of our workforce is employed in the tourism sector which, so it is reported, creates about 20 000 to 30 000 new jobs annually. Not only is tourism a sector with potential for growth, it can be a useful tool in alleviating poverty and unemployment.
Swellendam stands at the cusp of this development. Despite its potential, people complain that little or even nothing is being done to promote local tourism. This then gives rise to negative assessments and depressing reports by none other than the municipality itself which declares: “Tourism in its present structure is not at all a driving force for development”.
Mindful and aware of these negatives and undercurrents, some local residents have decided, yet once again, that the horse is not quite dead—yet and should perhaps be flogged (in the most kindly manner!) to try and revive an industry which, by no stretch of the imagination, should be dead or even lagging!
As a consequence, Daan van Rensburg, Chairman of the Swellendam Business Chamber, and Brian Strang, Chairman of the newly established Swellendam Tourist Organisation, convened a meeting on 9 February to enlighten the local business community and interested persons as to this new phase in the marketing of Swellendam as a tourist destination.
How refreshing therefore to perceive this local initiative and how important it was to attend a meeting to hear from Brian Strang what this initiative is all about. The meeting became even more important in that the main speaker was Bonita Malherbe, the pre-eminently successful manager and promoter of Robertson Wine Valley for the past six years.
Her dynamic presentation, if it could be weighed, was of purest gold. She fully agreed with those who had found the going tough, frustrating and fruitless saying that it would not always be easy. Here she quoted Og Mandino: “Failure will never overtake me as long as my determination to succeed is strong enough!” Clearly, as her subsequent address proved, if the spirit is willing, anything is possible.
As far as the Robertson Valley was concerned, she explained that, to begin with, the situation had been disturbing with a low, overall morale. This however had the positive advantage in that anything would have been an improvement!
They had started off with no elaborate marketing plan and a very small budget. The board had decided that initially, all they needed was ‘feet’ and that they should just stick with the basics and focus on events.
The Board opted for a concept of ‘Destination Marketing’ and decided to position the Robertson Wine Valley amongst the leading wine regions of the world, recognised for its wine, experiences and practices.
Phenomenal Growth
Staring with a modest budget of R26 000 in 2004 bringing 2500 visitors, the concept enjoyed phenomenal growth. By 2008, it had, with over 16 000 visitors, grown into the biggest regional wine fest with a R20.8 million impact. 57 activities in 2004 had increased to an astonishing 600 in 2008.
Regarding the related concept of Robertson Slow, Bonita explained that here too, valuable lessons have been learned—the hard way. One should not assume anything—a recipe cannot just be copied. Marketing approaches and strategies have to be adapted for each target market.
Lessons learned in the process include the following: communication is the key to any change; what you focus on, people will focus on; always give value for money; engage with your visitors and strive to get the feedback; don’t compare with other similar projects and don’t get too emotionally involved with projects—if it’s not working, change it.
Speaking generally, Bonita said the biggest mistake would be not doing anything. Secondly, face the fact that there is lots of red tape in Tourism—get over it, work with it. While advertising had been kept to a minimum, the harnessing of new technologies such as Facebook and viral campaigns, was essential. A good website and database was crucial but one still had to be clever! Finally, one has to maintain good media relations—one’s image has to figure significantly in the overall network!Lastly but not least, Bonita paid tribute to her team. Both the Board and staff were wholly committed and worked together in strong unity.