Tourism SMME's Empowerment Tops LTP's Agenda

Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award (ETEYA)

HOEDSPRUIT, FRIDAY 26TH  JUNE 2009 - Limpopo Tourism and Parks  will presented a cheque of R75 000 to Tebogo Mametja of River Lodge as part of LTP’s contribution to match the first runner-up’s prize for this year’s competition. In the same event, the organization will also launch the e-commerce website to assist tourism SMMEs to gain valuable market access.

The names Tebogo and Connie Mametja might not mean a lot to ordinary people in South Africa; however this couple is one of the top notch, brave and innovative tourism entrepreneurs in the country. They are known in the tourism circles as the owners of River Lodge, or the product that gave City of Choice Travel and Tour a good run for their money during the highly contested ETEYA (Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Awards) Awards.

The ETEYA Awards have been running for an impressive 8 years, but this is the first year that the winners were announced in South Africa. This year’s ETEYA award ceremony took place at the Tourism INDABA in Durban in May 2009. Tebogo Mametja of River Lodge was announced the first national runner up of the competition.

According to Tebogo, “participating in the ETEYA Award was a good exposure for our business as we met and interacted with key and influential leaders within the industry both locally and internationally e.g. the ITB Tradeshow in Berlin, Germany”.

“We are very elated about this achievement as we had expected that River Lodge would not disappoint us in maintaining the winning culture of our products on yearly basis at Indaba”, said the CEO of Limpopo Tourism and Parks, Mr. Benny Boshielo.

ETEYA is an initiative of South African Tourism in conjunction with provincial tourism authorities and is sponsored by South African Breweries. In the last eight years of the competition, Limpopo Province has won the overall first prize of the award three times in 2002, 2004 and 2006 whilst in 2007, received second runner-up and in 2009 received the first runner-up.

On the interactive, self maintained e-commerce website for SMME’s

Integrating traditional media and contemporary communication channels for maximum cost-effective exposure is the main objective for Limpopo TP to launch the e-commerce website. The various media channels available today provide our SMME’s with a wide variety of medium of communicating, advertising and marketing their products e.g. print, electronic and web.

The launch of the e-commerce website will take the contemporary approach to leverage on the strengths of all traditional media in a manner that will be cost effective and measurable against sales generated.

Exposure to potential clients will be driven through a built-in-mobile communications platform and address book:

• The SMME can send bulk MMS’s or SMS’s to his/her database or address book with his/her web address and his/her contact number.
• Place a print-media advert incorporating a call to action via a 5 digit code. e.g. “A special offer or introductory offer”.
• Reply to responses received and track conversation into sales!
• Direct SMS enquiries to the SMME’s website.