Moses Kotane Local Municipality will bring tourism stakeholders together at Sun City this week for a two day summit aimed at examining how digital technology and artificial intelligence can reshape the tourism industry in the municipality.
The Moses Kotane Tourism Summit/Lekgotla is scheduled for September 16 and 17 under the theme, “Digital and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism.”
The summit is expected to bring together tourism businesses, government institutions, tourism practitioners and other stakeholders to assess the state of tourism in the municipality and discuss ways of strengthening the sector.
Municipal spokesperson Berlina Lekgethwane said the gathering would provide an opportunity for stakeholders to examine new approaches to tourism development and competitiveness.
“The summit brings together tourism stakeholders, businesses, government institutions, tourism practitioners and other key players to engage on the current state of tourism within the Moses Kotane local area, while exploring innovative solutions to strengthen the sector,” Lekgethwane said.
Artificial intelligence and other digital technologies will be a central focus of the discussions, with stakeholders expected to consider how technology can be used across the tourism value chain.
Areas of discussion will include tourism marketing and destination promotion, business operations, efficiency, visitor experiences, innovation and competitiveness.
The municipality is home to some of the North West’s most prominent tourism destinations, including Pilanesberg National Park, which attracts domestic and international visitors to the area.
But the municipality’s tourism offering extends beyond the national park and Sun City. Attractions and experiences around the wider Moses Kotane area include the Valley of Waves and other Sun City facilities, the Moruleng Cultural Precinct and Bakgatla cultural heritage sites, as well as wildlife, outdoor and community based tourism opportunities around the Pilanesberg area.
The summit could provide an opportunity for smaller tourism operators and community-based enterprises to benefit from technologies that have traditionally been more accessible to larger tourism businesses.
Digital marketing, for example, could allow local accommodation providers, tour operators, cultural practitioners, craft producers and community attractions to reach visitors directly through social media, online booking platforms, digital maps and targeted advertising.
Artificial intelligence could also help tourism businesses create multilingual promotional material, respond to visitor enquiries, analyse customer preferences and improve the way attractions are marketed to different visitor markets.
For lesser-known attractions, a stronger digital presence could be particularly important. Local operators could use photographs, short-form video, virtual tours and location-based digital marketing to showcase experiences that may otherwise receive less attention than major destinations such as Sun City and Pilanesberg.
The discussions could also help tourism stakeholders consider how the municipality can develop a more connected tourism offering, encouraging visitors who arrive for major attractions to spend more time exploring surrounding communities and businesses.
Lekgethwane said the summit would focus on how emerging technologies could be leveraged to improve tourism marketing, business operations, visitor experiences and innovation.
For Moses Kotane, the challenge will be to ensure that the benefits of digital tourism reach beyond the municipality’s largest and best-known attractions.
The September summit therefore comes at a time when technology is increasingly influencing how travellers discover destinations, compare experiences, make bookings and share their experiences after visiting.
The municipality’s tourism stakeholders will have an opportunity to consider how Moses Kotane can use those changes to strengthen its tourism economy while promoting both established attractions and smaller local enterprises.