Digital business recovery strategies and social media best practices were the focus of the third webinar workshop hosted by Tourism KwaZulu Natal (TKZN) for owners of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).

Acting CEO of TKZN, Phindile Makwakwa, said the organisation wanted to assist KZN SMMEs to remodel their businesses to be able to operate in a COVID-19 environment.

“TKZN is hosting online workshops to share vital information to get small tourism business back on track.”

GM of Marketing at TZKN, Thulisile Galelekile, said intimate and personalised social media communication with markets was critical. “Tourism businesses will have to communicate more frequently with their customers to ease their fears of travelling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Frequent engagement with customers that is personalised will ensure your business is seen as trustworthy and reliable, and that is dependent on having a strong social media presence.”

Galelekile said tourism businesses needed to change their mindset and attitude to social media. “You cannot be afraid to diversify your social media platforms. There are many emerging social media apps such as TikTok that tourism businesses need to understand now and use so they don’t have to catch up later.”

Founder and CEO of VResorts, Vladimir Varnavskii, said the new marketing edge in tourism and many other industries was virtual reality (VR), especially with the travel restrictions implemented to combat COVID-19.

“These days there are cheaper and more accessible devices that can be effectively used for marketing in the hospitality industry,” said Varnavskii. “There are VR booking platforms such as VResorts, where businesses can control their listing and excite guests looking for exclusivity.

“If you don’t have VR remote control software like Oculus, you can access it though Facebook and give your customers a 360-degree view of the property and other product offerings.”

Varnavskii said VR would be used to help guests check in to accommodation in the future. “Your guests can view the facilities more easily before they get there and feel comfortable staying there. They could help you upsell once they see via VR that there are more offerings,” he said.

Please see the video below to view the entire online workshop.