CHAPTER 4 | Supply Analysis | Garden Route District

Mero infographic here

Introduction

The Garden Route District is one of the most beautiful, diverse and awe- inspiring parts of . Stretching from Witsand to Plettenberg Bay, right around to as well as Calitzdorp and Ladismith on the world- renowned Route 62, this is a place where adventure lies around every corner.

The Garden Route District consists of seven municipalities. Kannaland,

Hessequa, Oudsthoorn, , George, Knysna and Bitou.

Kannaland and Oudsthoorn municipalities form what is often called the Klein

Karoo. It is the area past the forested slopes of the Outeniqua Mountains.

Although a drier area, it is one of the most diverse parts of the .

In the southwest, one will find the Langeberg Mountains and the Swartberg

Mountains in the north separate it from the Central District. The world- famous Route 62 transverses across the Klein Karoo.

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Destination Positioning

The Garden Route District suffers from fragmentation in terms of how the various local tourism organisations promote each town outwardly, both domestically and internationally. Although a plethora of attractions and experiences in itself is not a bad thing, the current approach feels like each area is competing against the other, and not growing the whole tourism offering through a more coordinated approach.

2 A review of over 300 000 online conversations worldwide (January -

December 2017) for Knysna showed that most discussions were about beaches and shorelines, nature photography, restaurants and festivals and events. However, growth opportunities in terms of what people showed a high level of sentiment are motorsports, wildlife viewing and fishing.

Attractions and Experiences

Tourism Attractions Audit

A study was conducted on 17 tourist attractions in the Garden Route District to gain a better understanding of the current product offering and to help identify possible opportunities to help grow arrivals to the district.

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Adult Child Type of Annual Admission Admission % % Opening Closed Dwell time Full Part Clean Attraction Visitors Fee Fee % Adult % Child domestic international times days (hrs) time time Featherbed Bay Eco 08h30 - Experience Nature n/a R499 R116 n/a n/a n/a n/a 17h30 0 3 n/a n/a R720 - 08H00 - Ocean Odyssey Nature, Animal 10 656 R910 760 91% 19% 19% 81% 17h00 0 2 n/a n/a Garden Route National Park, 08H00 - day viistors nature 414 996 R59 - R235 R30 -R118 n/a n/a 48% 52% 17h00 0 n/a n/a n/a 08h00 - *120 staff across Birds of Eden Nature Animal 170 000 R260 R130 50% 50% 50% 50% 17h00 0 1 hr 15 min all 3 sites 08h00 - Monkeyland Nature Animal 200 000 R260 R130 50% 50% 50% 50% 17h00 0 1 hr 15 min 09h00 - Tinikwa Nature Animal 150 000 R260 R130 50% 50% 50% 50% 16h00 0 2 08h00 - Robberg Peninsula Nature 21 189 R50 R30 85% 15% 99% 1% 18h00 0 2 n/a n/a 09h00 - RedBerry Farm Farm Park n/a free, pay for activities n/a n/a n/a n/a 16h00 1 n/a n/a n/a 09h00 - Radical Raptors Nature animal 8 500 R160 R120 60% 40% 50% 50% 17h00 0 1 4 0

Klein Karoo 08h30 - Cango Wildlife Ranch Animal Based 100 000 R180 R135 70% 30% 60% 40% 17h00 0 2 85 42 09h00- Cango Caves Heritage 252 328 R150 R100 35% 65% 16h00 0 2 36 3 09h00 - CP Nel Museum Heritage 6 880 R25 R5 n/a n/a 64% 36% 17h00 1.5 40 min 12 0 08h30 - Safari Ostrich Farm Animal Based n/a R146 R73 n/a n/a n/a n/a 17h15 0 1 n/a n/a 08h00 - Cango Ostrich Farm Animal Based n/a R120 R65 n/a n/a n/a n/a 17h15 0 45 min n/a n/a 08h00 - 1 hr - 2 Chandelier Game & Ostrich Animal Based n/a R50 - R500 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 17h15 0 hours n/a n/a 08h00 - Highgate Ostrich Show Farm Animal Based n/a R187 R121 n/a n/a n/a n/a 17h15 0 n/a n/a

4 R190 - 08h00 - Buffelsdrif animal Based 40 000 R385-R920 R460 85% 15% 30% 70% 18h00 0 4 20 1 09h00- Zipline Cango activity n/a R330 R330 n/a n/a n/a n/a 16h30 0 45 min 14 4 Note: Not all sites were able to provide visitor data

• The Cango Caves provides a benchmark for most attractions in the region in terms of visitor numbers and attracts

over 250 000 visitors per annum.

• The Garden Route National Park, which has several entry points, attracts over 400 000 day visitors per annum.

• Many attractions in the district see over 100 000 predominately domestic tourists and provide child-friendly

activities.

• Admission fees for popular attractions are all over R150.

• SANParks is the only attraction in the region with a dual pricing strategy. Conservation fees per day (adult) are

R59 for South African citizens and R235 for international visitors. SADEC rates are also available.

• The region offers a wide range of outdoor activities, animal encounters and child-friendly experiences.

• All major sites are open seven days a week.

• Attractions have the right mix of local and international visitors with the majority being reliant on domestic

travellers.

5 • Attractions offer an excellent range of dwell time, allowing visitors the opportunity to enjoy than one attraction a

day.

Audit Segmentation

6 Audit Segmentation

Q1: High-quality/low visitor numbers:

Attractions in this quadrant need to explore why their visitor numbers are small. Investment in marketing and awareness of the attraction is required.

• Robberg Peninsula

• Ocean Odyssey Whale Watching

• Red Berry Farm

• Radical Raptors

Q2: High-quality experience/ high visitor numbers

Attractions in this quadrant are often flagship or iconic attractions and act as drawcards for the region.

7 Attractions in this quadrant need to ensure they manage capacity issues. Poor capacity management will adversely affect the visitor experience and over time, result in visitor expectations not being met, thus altering the destination brand.

• Buffesldrif Game Lodge

• Ostrich Show Farms - Oudtshoorn

• Birds of Eden

• Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary

• Tenikwa Wildlife

• Featherbed Co

Q3: Low-quality experience/low visitor numbers

Attractions in this quadrant need to ask themselves whether they wish to be in the attractions industry or remain a hyper-niche experience. If the former, they need to invest in the visitor experience scientifically. If the latter, they need to ensure their experience remains a good quality niche product.

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• CP Nel Museum

• Heritage walk through Oudsthoorn

Q4: Low-quality experience/high visitor numbers

Attractions in this quadrant need to invest in the visitor experience. The relatively high visitor numbers despite poor experience often mask the real demand for the experience. Investment into the experience results in increased visitor numbers, thereby contributing to the bottom line.

• Cango Caves

• Cango Wildlife Ranch and Conservation Centre

Opportunities and Gaps | Finding the Sweet Spot

Include the infographic here

9 Sweet Spot 1: Connecting neighbours through scenic drives

The Gap

The relatively unknown scenic Swartberg Circle Route that links the Central Karoo to the Klein Karoo.

Opportunity

The Swartberg Circle route has the opportunity to become known as one of the great scenic drives in the world. As

South Africa's oldest pass, coupled with its status as a national monument and historical points of interest, this 23.8km offers a traveller a never-ending set of inspiring views.

And it is a quick win, as there is no infrastructure requirement. (refer to Sweet Spot 3 | Central Karoo Supply Analysis for detailed information regarding the route)

Taking scenic drives is the second most popular activity (MERO, 2019) by visitors to the district. Considering this, the

Swartberg Circle Route can become a major drawcard. The route itself requires no infrastructure investment - but there is a requirement for the investment in the marketing of it.

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Theme: Maximising revenue at the Cango Caves

The Gap

The Cango Caves are a major attraction in the district, but the maximising of ticket yield is not happening.

Opportunity

The Cango Caves is an iconic natural attraction for the Garden Route District attracting over 250 000 visitors per annum.

65% of these visitors are international. But it can attract more.

Through the revitalising of the visitor experience and visitor journey, the Cango Caves has the opportunity to attract more visitors at a higher yield. However, it is crucial to protect the caves from the negative impact increased visitors numbers will have. Human respiration generates elevated levels of CO2, which can negatively impact the cave geology. Visitors needs must be carefully balanced with environmental concerns to protect the cave system for future generations.

11 The first opportunity is to implement a Visitor Experience Analysis project. The project will look at methods to optimise dwell time, ticket yield, secondary spend and other income streams.

The second opportunity would be to research and implement ways to maximise income while managing capacity constraints. These could include:

1. Dynamic pricing to shift demand into off-peak times and maximise yield in high demand times.

2. The average visitor spends two hours on-site, of which one hour is on the cave tour. The additional hour on-site

offers a unique and valuable opportunity to create secondary spend.

3. Admissions tickets are the most important income drivers for the site. An online ticketing system allows a visitor to

pre-purchase a ticket, preserving pocket power and allowing for dynamic pricing. Ticket sales are the most

important portal for this attraction, and the ticketing system needs to be world-class for the site to yield best

results.

4. Additional site appropriate income streams need to be investigated. For example, immersive photo and video

experiences are excellent revenue generators.

12 Theme: Oudtshoorn Heritage and Culture

The Gap

The visitors need and high demand to experience culture and heritage experiences in Oudtshoorn vs the offering available (e.g. no access to Feather Palaces and low-quality visitor experiences).

The Opportunity

The opportunity exists to improve museums and cultural and heritage assets for local development and to add to the tourist experience.

Feather Palaces

The Feather Palaces of the Oudsthoorn area stand out for all to see. With their unique architectural style, they were once a show of opulence; today there is very little information available on them and even less access to them. The

C.P. Nel Museum does hold an excellent gallery of photos of them.

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Source: Getty Images (would need to purchase)

Research needs to assess the viability of the Feather Palace experience and the potential to develop it into an artisanal food hall that showcases the hyperlocal gastronomy of the region. Artisanal food from the area includes olives, wine, ostrich products, dried fruit and cheese.

14 Successful examples include the development of the heritage Philadelphia Bourse into an artisanal food hall

(https://theboursephilly.com/about/), Helsinki’s Old Market Hall (https://www.myhelsinki.fi/en/see-and-do/sights/old- market-hall) and the V&A Food Market in the old Power Station. The power station was built in 1882

(https://www.waterfront.co.za/markets/va-food-market/)

Heritage Route

The centre of heritage in Oudtshoorn is a small walkable nucleus providing the opportunity to create an educational route for visitors to enjoy. There is an opportunity to create a heritage walk with an information map, audio guide and clear, informative signboards at each heritage stop.

The current offering is poorly labelled with no historical information boards outside each site. This lack of information leaves visitors unsure of what they are looking at, and some noteworthy sites such as Foster House are not visible from the street.

15 C.P. Nel Museum

The C.P. Nel Museum situated in a Feather Palace celebrates the role of the ostrich trade and houses several exhibitions, including a synagogue. It is the only feather boom period house open for the general public.

There is a need to edit and curate the experience to a more comprehensive historical view of the town.

16 Theme: Animal encounters

The Gap

Attractions and experiences that involve unethical animal encounters are no longer acceptable.

The Opportunity

There is an opportunity for the Garden Route District to lead and ensure that all animal experiences are ethical and approved by the relevant body governing ethical animal interactions.

There are many sites in the Garden Route District that have animal interactions. The sentiment by both local and international visitors towards animal interactions is changing. Hand feeding, petting, riding, walking or swimming with animals and performing animals are all becoming unacceptable animal encounters. Experiences and attractions that rely on animal interactions to attract visitors need to urgently consider how to change their practices in line with global animal encounter ethics.

17 British Airways Holidays recently announced that they would no longer sell tickets to attractions that have unethical animal-based interactions.

Attractions and experiences with both domestic and wild animals will always be popular, particularly as the world becomes more urbanised, and visitors have less contact with animals in their ordinary lives. Attractions involving animal encounters will need to evolve swiftly to meet the new standards on ethical interaction with wild and domestic animals.

One negative interaction will result in tainting all animal experiences in the region. There is an opportunity for the

Garden Route District to lead the way and ensure that all animal experiences are ethical, support conservation and approved by the relevant body governing.

Theme: Farm Parks

The Gap

Farm parks as visitor attractions.

18 The Opportunity

Farm attractions provide a fun and educational day out for families. They can become a significant attraction for the district, particularly for the domestic tourism market. There is an opportunity for local farm parks to learn from similar attractions worldwide that have been on the farm-to-attraction journey.

In the United Kingdom, 400 farm parks welcome 20 million visitors per annum. Farm parks are one of the fastest-growing sectors in the U.K. attraction’s market.

Farm parks can range from small attractions offering agricultural experiences to farmers markets with activities for children and can grow to full agricultural themed attractions.

Over the past 20 years, Karls Adventure Farm in Germany has transformed itself from a traditional strawberry farm to a farm theme attraction, which attracts 1 million visitors each year.

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https://www.inspirock.com/germany/roevershagen/karls-erlebnis-dorf-rovershagen-a454730679

The Red Berry Farm and the ostrich show farms have the potential to grow and attract more visitors to the region.

Theme: Active Outdoor Experiences

The Gap

Active outdoor tourism as a destination brand.

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The Opportunity

Destination branding to focus on the active outdoor market for the Garden Route District.

There is a global trend towards more active forms of entertainment. Attractions have responded by building adventure parks, providing a range of outdoor activities and adrenaline experiences. The Garden Route District already has a wide range of active entertainment and can brand itself as the active-outdoor region of the Western Cape.

Adventure parks are relatively low investment attractions offering highly active elements that include zip-lining, rope obstacle courses, active observation towers, e.g. tree canopy, bungy viewing sites, obstacle courses and water sports.

These types of parks offer a highly social environment suitable for families and active outdoor tourists.

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Acrobranch Adventure Park, Wilderness

Source: www.dirtyboots.co.za

Tourism Nuclei

22 Primary Nuclei

Iconic attractions that are influential in the traveller’s decision to travel that act as a drawcard to the region.

Information is available pre-travel.

• The Garden Route acts as an iconic drawcard for its scenery, coastal beauty and outdoor activities.

• There are no attractions and visitor experiences that are strong enough drawcards to act as primary nuclei in the

region.

• The Cango Caves is a primary nucleus for domestic tourists.

Secondary Nuclei

Attractions in this category are known to the visitor pre-visit but do not play a significant role in the decision making of the trip.

• Cango Wildlife Ranch and Conservation Centre

• Cango Caves

• Featherbed Co

• Ostrich Farms

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Tertiary Nuclei

Attractions in this category are unknown pre-visit but may be discovered after arriving in the destination. High-quality visitor attractions in this category need to be given greater awareness such that they can become secondary nuclei for the region.

• Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary

• Birds of Eden

• Tenikwa Wildlife

• Red Berry Farm

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