A public relations strategy for the promotion of South Africa as a tourist destination in a 'non-user' country

Abstract

The objective of this study was to formulate a public relations strategy for a tourist-generating country which could be described as a 'non-user' of South Africa's tourist product. The aim of this strategy is to provide a catalyst for the establishment of a tourism relationship between a tourist-generating country and a tourist destination. This study shows that a tourism relationship begins when awareness of a tourist destination reaches a level at which a primary image of the destination is constructed by relevant publics in the tourist-generating country. Public relations is viewed from the perspective of a communications function concerned with image development. In this study an existing communication effects theory was adapted to represent the process of formulating a public relations strategy. The concept of destination image was explored with the construction o/primary image forming the proposition for the empirical testing. It was shown that by using a qualitative research design, certain 'push' and 'pull' factors could be identified and links between these factors established. It was also determined that in the same tourist-generating country these 'push' and 'pull' factors can differ substantially between various identified publics and that cultural context is an important determinant of these differences. The impact of these results became evident in the formulation of the public relations strategy where different communication strategies were required for each public. AFRIKAANS: Die oorkoepelende doel van hierdie studie was om 'n openbarebetrekkingestrategie vir 'n toeristegenererende land wat tans as 'n 'nie-gebruiker' van Suid-Afrika se toeristeproduk beskryf kan word, te formuleer. Hierdie strategic het ten doel om 'n toerismeverhouding tussen 'n bepaalde toeristegenererende land en 'n bepaalde toeriste-bestemming te inisieer. Die studie toon dat 'n toerisme-verhouding begin wanneer relevante publieke in die toeristegenererende land 'n vlak van bewustheid oor die toeristebestemming bereik waar 'n primere beeld gekon-strueer kan word.

Openbare betrekkinge word beskou vanuit die perspek-tief van 'n kommunikasiefunksie wat met beeldontwikkel-ing gemoeid is. In hierdie studie word 'n bestaande kommunikasie-effekteleorie aangepas om die proses van formulering van 'n openbarebetrekkingestrategie te ver-teenwoordig. Die konsep 'bestemmingsbeeld' is ondersoek en die konstruering van primere beeld vorm die proposisie vir die empiriese toetsing. Daar is getoon dat deur die gebruik-making van 'n kwalitatiewe navorsingsontwerp, sekere 'druk'- en 'trek'-faktore geidentifiseer kan word en verbindings tussen hierdie faktore daargestel kan word. Daar is ook bepaal dat, in een toeristegenererende land, hierdie 'druk'- en 'trek'-faktore aansienlik kan verskil onder verskeie gei'dentifiseerde publieke en dat kulturele konteks 'n belangrike determinant van hierdie verskille is. Die impak van hierdie resultate het duidelik geword in die formulering van die openbarebetrekkingestrategie waar verskillende kommunikasiestrategiee vir elke publiek vereis is.