At our recent #AAVEA2020 live chat, our board and members discussed their school holidays in the “new normal” insights and what our #StaggeredSASchoolHolidays campaign could mean for our sites going forward.
The video will be up on our YouTube channel soon so here’s what our board members have shared so far:
Mandi Jarman, City Sightseeing South Africa:
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- Value in family packages: We have introduced family packages and combo tickets which seems to be well received.
- Reintroduction of product offerings is key: We are bringing back more products and tours as we get closer to the school holidays. Additionally, our JHB operation ,which is currently only operating one day a week ,will run 7 days a week from 16 December and will offer a hop on hop off service, as by then the attractions in Joburg should have reopened.
Jonny Gardner, Happy Snappy:
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- Mini seasons in one: The ‘staggered’ holidays were surprisingly promising for us. We experienced two ‘mini seasons’ over the school holidays as opposed to one bigger period. This helped us reduce staffing costs and boost conversion. Overall improving profitability
- Visitors follow safety protocols: People have been exceptionally patient in queues and engaging at the entranced. The seem well versed in protocols
- Need to get out vs price sensitivity: We’ve noticed an overall positive approach to visitors getting out locally but they are typically very price sensitive.
- Discounts are welcomed: We reduced our prices by 20% to accommodate a general economic down turn locally. This has helped us increase our conversion/penetration by 30% in some cases.
Fatima Anter, Cape Point:
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- Specials do not increase uptake: While we offered a special for kids to ride free, we didn’t see much of an increase in uptake of funicular tickets.For December we will charge normal rates and not do a kids special.
- Added combo specials are valued: We have a combo special and it’s picking up a bit now.While it started out very slowly, Cape Point visitors are seeing the value now – R150 for a return ticket, pizza/baguette and R50 voucher for the gift store.
- Proximity plays a role in visitorship: A full day trip to Cape Point is not as appealing to visitors as a multitude of experiences closer to home.
Do you have anything to add? Please let us know by tagging us on Twitter at @Attractions_Afr and using the hashtag #StaggeredSASchoolHolidays.
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