In a bid to streamline its marketing activities for the Indian travel trade, South African Tourism (SAT) has introduced a structured joint promotion activity programme with travel trade to promote the destination on a bigger scale and more effectively. Early this month SAT sent direct mailers and published ads in leading newspapers inviting interest from trade partners to participate in the joint promotion activity programme to be undertaken till March 2013. The joint promotion will be conducted in collaboration with four selected trade partners in the first phase. SAT received 21 applications and will shortlist four and announce the same by mid-February 2012. This information was divulged by Hanneli Slabber, Country Head - India, South African Tourism on the sidelines of the road show in Mumbai yesterday, the first of the five-city annual India road show. The eight edition of the annual road show comprises of 62 South African suppliers with a total of 135 delegates and will cover Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Pune. In a bid to tap secondary markets, Pune has been included on the road show itinerary this year. top_310112_1.jpgElaborating on the joint promotion activity programme Slabber said, “Earlier, the tourism board used to approach the travel trade and vice-versa on ad hoc basis. We have now put a structure in place and have gone public with our plans of the programme. We are looking to work with both the big and the small tour operators. We want to support the tour operator to sell South Africa in a better way and will help them to design the itinerary. Commercial marketing expenditure up to 50 per cent will be borne by SAT. While SAT will be working closely with tour operators, the itinerary will be tailor made as per the demand of the consumers. We shall combine the needs of the tour operator with our needs in order to sell the packages. However, the tour operator is required to sell an itinerary of minimum nine-nights.” Commenting on the guidelines for the selection of tour operators for the joint promotion activity programme Slabber informed that things like reach of the tour operator based on national, regional and city is taken into consideration among other criteria. “The joint promotion activity is a continuous process and shall again invite application in March and then in October,” stated Slabber.