ESWATINI, SA TOURISM PARTNERSHIP BLOSSOMS

MBABANE – This past weekend saw the partnership between SA and local tourism blossom through an exclusive event courtesy of Tom Tiger Events.

The event organisers from the kingdom and across the borders from the entertainment stable, Tom Tiger, mentioned how this event would not have been possible without the partnership that was established in the previous year. It was also established that this is just the beginning of what will be an ongoing series of events to be hosted. Triland is the name of the partnership between the two countries and Mozambique. Following the signing of the Triland Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Africa’s Travel Indaba in May of 2022, Eswatini, Mpumalanga and Mozambique came to an agreement that they would be executing a set of partnership activities from August 2022. The Triland agreement is an initiative entered into between the Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA), Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) and the Mozambique Tourism Board (Inatur) with the aim of promoting the region as a tourist, trade and investment destination.

Execution

The reactivation of the agreement sees the execution of a series of projects between 2022 and 2023, which commenced with a Triland familiarisation excursion, which entailed site visits by members of the entities as well as media and tour operators from the three countries. Although the Tom Tiger event was not a direct result or planned activity by the partnership, but it was made easier for an SA stable to host in a country that they have established a relationship with. It is worth noting that at the event, which was held at Mega Lounge, Sidwashini, a considerable number of the attendees were from SA, which is not common for events but it is mostly seen in festivals. “This event was the beginning of even bigger events and the number of people, from SA, Mpumalanga mostly, had to be turned back because of space restriction,” mentioned KB da DJ who is a local entertainer and part of the Eswatini organisers of the event. The event was aimed at positioning Eswatini as a destination of choice to people across the kingdom.

Understanding

The three tourism entities entered into and signed the first MoU in 2009 and in September 2011, during tourism month, launched the Triland Regional Tourism Destination Brand Strategy, in Mozambique. The essential elements of the Brand and Regional Tourism Routes are packaged on three unique selling points - nature in Mpumalanga, rich culture in Eswatini and the sea as well as white sandy beaches in Mozambique. Speaking on the overall objective of the Triland familiarisation excursion last year, ETA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Linda Nxumalo explained that this exercise would be lucrative in manifesting the country’s tourism mandate, which is to position Eswatini as a destination of a choice in the domestic, regional and international markets. “Triland offers a platform for Eswatini to market itself in the region through South Africa and Mozambique, as well as within the domestic market.

Encourage

“In addition to the new Eswatini-based airline, Eswatini Air, which has begun operations, we believe that Triland will allow us to package the country in a manner that will encourage awareness and generate interest to explore Destination Eswatini from our neighbouring countries,” explained Nxumalo. Nxumalo further stated that the joint marketing efforts that form part of the Triland agreement afford each partner the opportunity to disseminate their key messaging in a compelling way and assured that Eswatini will be leveraging the brand equity that will offer Eswatini heightened visibility to attract increased tourist arrivals.

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