Thursday, 22nd June 2023
Johannesburg – Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA) the official destination marketing agency for the Gauteng City Region is excited to be collaborating with the Food & Beverage Manufacturing Seta (FoodBev) in showcasing the best of South African and Gauteng Eateries and Experiences at this year’s Tshisanyama Festival USA in New Jersey, New York from Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th June 2023.
Dubbed the “authentic Southern African Experience”, the festival which was started by South Africans living in the USA in 2016, aims to promote South African township cuisine and experiences to the North American market. For us in Gauteng, this festival serve as a perfect market access platform for the province’s SMMEs and establishments in the food and beverage sub-sector located in our townships, informal settlement, hostels, business districts and tourism hubs.
Gauteng, the golden city region of South Africa account for over 40% of international arrival into South Africa with OR Tambo International Airport serving as the main entry point. Tourism contributes just over 3% into the provincial GDP and account for more than 300 thousands direct jobs and over 500 thousand
from indirect and related value-chain sectors. In 2022, North America moved to become South Africa’s number one key source market with 298 000 visitor arrivals from the continent, overtaking arrivals from United Kingdom and Germany.
Significantly, this market increase is recorded in the African American tour groups consisting of special interest groups like (festivals goers, music enthusiasts, sports tours, gastronomy tours, shopping, visiting friends and relatives, paleo sciences) and solo travelers who are into revenge travel following the more
than 2 years travel pause infused by the Covid pandemic.
By end of March 2023, Gauteng recorded impressive tourism arrival numbers, revenue, and increased bednights. The province accounted for over 2.7million international arrivals and generated over R35 billion in terms of revenue from international arrivals and 30-billion-rand value of business facilitated for SMMEs
through marketing projects. Guided by the above advances and the need to do more in terms of marketing destination Gauteng to a lucrative market like the USA and especially its township tourism offerings and gastronomy tourism routes, the showcase at the Tshisanyama Festival USA together with FoodBev Seta
represent our direct response and energy to implement the Gauteng Township Economic Development Act (TEDA) using experiential, storytelling and direct marketing initiatives with like partners to significantly increase these numbers by mining the US market amongst others.
Forming part of the GTA and FoodBev experiential and in-market showcase through promotional content and direct engagement will be the Soshanguve-based Something Sosha Eatery, Tso’s Butchery in Kagiso in the West Rand, PDL Tshisanyama in Soweto-Johannesburg, Native Nosi, Soweto Spice, Setsong Tea from Limpopo, Matomani from GP and Limpopo and The Bread Box.
While we acknowledge that, there are still many more products, eateries and experiences that form part of the overall South African and Gauteng’s food and beverage offerings especially in our townships, we are confident that, through these representatives both in person and through digital content and promotion
interface, the call to encourage North Americans to visit South Africa via this Tshisanyama Festival USA showcase will be heard.
Gauteng account for 9 of the top 15 biggest townships in South Africa. The province’s over 15million people are mainly housed in these townships and Gauteng Tourism regards them as the province’s actual gold. They are the energy and drive that makes Gauteng. They represent the soul and fiber of the province and our developmental tourism growth agenda is directed at them as major beneficiaries. What separates Gauteng townships, its eateries and overall food and lifestyle experiences from the rest of the country and other hubs is the continued authentic expressions, the ability to appreciate the value of tourism and constant innovation and designing of human centric solutions to drive economic recovery with glocally driven offerings.
Gauteng is the Home of Amapiano, and we are supporting the efforts to formally internationalize this powerful and authentic South African musical genre through brand-partnerships, storytelling, and joint marketing initiatives like this festival which is having a strong SA musical and lifestyle presence to amplify South African Exceptionalism on offer.
Overall, the strategy is to pair these musical events with our food and cuisines. The #GautengEats programme is directly linked to the music, good people, and good food offerings. In here various restaurants especially those from our sprawling townships curate their menus and the GTA provide the electronic sales and marketing platforms to increase sales, awareness and create sharable moments.
Mogodu Mondays and Tshisanyama experiences are some of the consistent offerings from this work including fine dining and food and music markets that are well curated across the province. Today Mogodu Mondays and Tshisanyama experiences form part of the destination marketing collateral and what to do in
Gauteng itineraries and as such, our showcase in New York is aimed at increasing the momentum, concluded Dlamini.
For more information, visit www.gauteng.net @visitgauteng on Instagram, twitter and tiktok and I love gauteng on facebook and Gauteng Tourism Authority on LinkedIn.
Enquiries: Barba Gaoganediwe, Spokesperson Gauteng Tourism
0834467844
barba@gauteng.net
@Barba_G74 on twitter
124 Main Street, Marshalltown, Johannesburg
