Gansbaai, 22km up the road from Stanford, attracts hundreds of day-trippers daily, to see Great White sharks and whales (in season). They drive in from Cape Town and then drive straight back.
We asked Suné Greef, Overstrand Municipality’s tourism marketing manager what their strategy is to extend the stay of these visitors and spread them (and their spend) around more of the region. (Overstrand comprises the towns of Hermanus, Stanford, Gansbaai, Kleinmond and Pringle Bay.)
Here is her answer:
The overall strategy of Cape Whale Coast, the tourism marketing arm of the Overstrand Municipality, is to make this area the preferred whole year destination for visitors to the Cape and that this area should be their base from where they will make trips to other areas.
To achieve this collaboration from the private sector as well as other authorities will be needed. Included in the plan are:
- Introducing travel packages, that will include a variety of products combined with special offers negotiated with local product owners;
- Developing and marketing new and exciting tourism routes of which niche products, such as shark cage diving, will form part of;
- The introduction or upgrading of catalyst events in the area that will bring vibrancy to the different towns of the area and attract visitors;
- The compilation of an integrated spatial development framework that will provide opportunities for key tourism growth products in terms of accommodation and entertainment, amongst others in the Gansbaai area;
- The tarring of the road between Elim and Baardskeerdersbos to be completed in 2013 will open up travelling opportunities for tourists (Gansbaai will no longer be the end of the line and tourists can stay over to travel further, instead of back to where they come from; and
- Broadening of participation in tourism planning to ensure a wider spread of opportunities.
At this stage the profile of the shark cage diving tourists to Gansbaai displays that of people in the high-income bracket and often enjoying celebrity status. They have a taste for luxury accommodation and the night life of Cape Town, which can not be fully provided at this stage. Hopefully we will be able to cater for them in the future.
Hmmm… strategies without deliverables and action plans, with dates, always sound a little hollow.
I also wonder how much research was done on the shark diving tourists profile. My experience hosting these tourists at Saxon Lodge and spending a great deal of time in and around the shark operations does not match the ‘opinion’ that these tourists are high-income bracket – celebrity status individuals. There are some, but they are not the average, to the contrary the average appears to be nature travellers or young adrenalin travellers many fulfilling their bucket list item. This appears to be a justification for lack of proper destination marketing rather than a serious look at the dynamics of the tourism to this region.
I agree that the response from tourism marketing management smacks of jargonised rhetoric with no action orientation or direction. Upward of 90000 tourists make their way to Gansbaai to spend time with the Great White sharks. The opportunity for this area is already in our hands… tourism marketing management need only shift their emphasis to the regions amazing offerings and showcase through tourism channels.
Thanks Caron, I’m emailing this to Sune and I hope she will comment further.
It strikes me that this areas called the “Cape Whale Coast” only, when the Whales are only around for six months at most. What about the rest of the year when the Whales are not around? This area is blessed by the fact that the Great White Sharks are around and able to be seen all year round. Not to mention Fynbos, Birds, hiking trails, fantastic fishing and unspoilt arty villages like Stanford, Baardscheerdersbos and Kleinmond where visitors can explore and discover unusual artifacts and gifts. There are treasures like Harold Porter, the Penguin colony at Stony Point, great beaches, historically important caves at Klipgat and charming villages like Elim and so much more that cannot fit onto a page.
This is what we should be promoting to attract visitors. The Shark operators drive their guests to Gansbaai, often picking them up at 4 am in Cape Town and driving the sleepy people to their operation, breakfast, trip, lunch, back on the bus – sleep back to Cape Town. Some of them don’t even remember which company they dived with, let alone anything about the area they were driven through or the towns they slept through….
Getting more bums in bed sand on restaurant seats in our beautiful towns and villages has been on the cards for years now and the topic of much discussion on the agendas of Tourism committees. Yet we are still holding our breath for the “Whale Coast” tourism machine to expand their focus and create some real new tourism routes, beyond the Whales.
What does “an integrated special development plan” mean?
The tarring of the road between Elim and Baardscheerdersbos will hardly assist Gansbaai not to be “the end of the line” as B/Bos is a number of kms from Gansbaai and this is mainly dirt. Tourists drive these roads daily, and enjoy the experience of real country roads.
Please let us assist with the “plan” as what I am reading in the explanation above is not my experience or understanding of the Shark diving tourist either…
How many real MARKETERS sit on those tourism committees? Not bureaucrats or marketers who paint by numbers, but people who can pull a rabbit out of a hat?
As a person that has been to Gansbaai a few times in the past, I can definitely say that the standards of the guesthouses, hotels and restaurants are not as good as Cape Town.
I have stayed at several places namely, Cliff lodge, Crayfish lodge, Saxon lodge and a few others. These were the top places in Gansbaai, but every guesthouse in the Overberg region has one thing in common. Sharks, sharks, sharks… It is a strong attraction and the main reason why I visit Gansbaai every year. It would however be nice to actually stay at a place that is not trying to sell shark diving but instead promote their own guesthouse. I have seen guesthouses bad mouthing one shark diving company to the extreme so they can steal the booking and book the guests with another company in order to claim a referal fee.
If the businesses, institutions and organisations in the Overberg put as much effort and energy into marketing their own “uniqueness” and attractions as they do trying to be a booking agent for a shark company, or blaming shark diving operators for providing a much needed bus service then maybe people might stay over longer.
The overberg is a great and beautiful place, but walking through the fynbos does not appeal to many people. The caves have been locked for over a decade, in the 10 years I have come to Gansbaai I have yet to see the historical drip caves from the inside.
The last time I was in Gansbaai (2011) I noticed the town centre was very run down, the whole town needed a paint job, there were unoccupied buildings below the mainstreet towards the harbor with broken windows, rusty gates and paint peeling off everywhere. The whole look and feel of the town was not very welcoming to me as a tourist.
I am afraid Gansbaai will not see me again unless the people in this area wake up and work for their future instead of complaining or shifting the blame to the shark industry for the state the town and its tourism sector is in. I would much rather stay in cape town and catch a bus for the day.
Regards
Johnathan
Have you considered spending more time in Stanford or Hermanus – both much prettier – rather than a quick in-and-out of the region?