ConsumerCentriX is partnering with Stanbic Bank Uganda on the Covid-19 Business Info to provide to entrepreneurs across Uganda with reliable information to help them overcome the challenges of the pandemic. A version of this article was originally posted on the COVID-19 Business Info Hub.

The COVID-19 Business Info Hub spoke with David Gonahasa, an African tourism enthusiast and CEO of Tripxio, an SME that has built a unique solution to help tourism businesses survive through the serious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some of the lessons SMEs in the sector can learn from to ensure their survival post-COVID.

What have the effects of COVID-19 been on the tourism sector?

From the onset, 2020 screamed opportunity for Uganda tourism. The year on year growth trend was expected to continue, and operators were looking to drive sales as high as possible in anticipation of a possible slowdown caused by 2021 being an election year.

Four months into the year, the entire tourism sector, which contributes 7.5% of GDP, shut down due to COVID-19. The largest hotel chains have laid off staff, some operators are completely bowing out, and according to Uganda Tourism Board, about 460,000 jobs are on the line. The lockdown will soon be over, and people will travel again; however, for some operators, the damage may be irreparable. It could be up to a year before international tourists, who have long been the core backbone of the sector revenue, start to flock Uganda again. Without these visitors, operators that start over will still be in the eye of the storm and will have to be at their most innovative to navigate this period.

What does survival look like?

Sector specialists expect that tourism will restart with domestic and regional market bookings and that eventually international tourists will return. This brings up questions around how to target the domestic market and whether the market is sufficiently large to keep the sector afloat. Targeting domestic and regional tourists may be a viable option for operators to not only create cash flows post-COVID but also start to rebuild destination confidence, particularly since most people (including international tourists) will travel to places where other people go.

Is the market sufficiently large? Yes. The African Development Bank reports Uganda’s middle class makes up 18% of the population, which is about 7.2 million people. The same report places the upper-middle-class number at about 1.5 million individuals. This would indicate that there are over 1 million Ugandans likely to be able to afford to pay for tourism or experience-related products, as well as groups like schools and churches.

What is important is changing the mindset around domestic or regional travel and finding new ways of communicating customer experience. Local tourism operators have long been reluctant to focus on the domestic market with the viewpoint that “Ugandans don’t travel.” This view is now gradually changing to “Ugandans prefer to travel to international destinations as opposed to local National Parks.” Data from Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) that indicates that 49,000 Ugandans traveled to the Emirate in 2018 may confirm this view when taking into account that this is larger than the number of East African Residents who traveled to most Ugandan National Parks in the same year. The value to the potential domestic or regional tourist traveling to a Ugandan National Park needs to be effectively communicated – and that means highlighting things like price, convenience, scenic beauty, and the customer experience that can be expected. Marketing should focus on being empathetic and relatable – it is not the time for “come to my destination” type marketing. The #TravelTomorrow campaign is one to ride on.

How can industry players practically re-invent themselves post-COVID?

In more developed markets, tourism is highly fragmented and specialized. Products are tailored to suit the target audience’s needs and desires. This innovation creates differentiation and relevance for operators. It drives consistent bookings. In Uganda, tourism is still characterized by product homogeneity, Operators sell the same National Park deals, for the same number of days, and in many cases, even for the same price. For competing operators, conversion comes down to how much an agent has to spend on marketing or how well networked they are.

A few recommendations to consider include:

Rethink and redevelop products.

Operators should:

• Identify their target customers. Who are operators selling to?
• Understand their motivations to purchase tourism or experience products. Are they looking to relax? To engage with culture and history?
• Build products around that, ensuring that what are you selling and why they should buy from you are clear.

Rethink distribution & digitalize business operations.

With an effective technology solution, an operator can start distributing packages and promotions for later dates, accept installments, and start to guarantee revenues. Business survival calls for improving efficiency across many areas, primarily product distribution, conversion, and maximizing customer spend. Digitalizing tourism sales and operations is one way to achieve this, enabling front end e-commerce and back end operations capabilities.

Digitalization has for long seemed very expensive and out of reach for many operators; however, there are a number of solutions today that will allow an operator to achieve this at a fraction of the cost. Tripxio (hello@tripxio.com) is one such solution that helps businesses develop, distribute, and sell tourism and experience products online. It allows businesses access to e-commerce websites, itinerary builders, digital marketing, and bookings and payments systems, and generally enables them to manage back-office operations and customer relationships all in one place. This solution is a software as a service model, which implies a limited cost of acquisition to the business with the benefits of running an in-house technology team.

Get creative about marketing and public relations.

Marketing and public relations activities should not stop for agents, even if travel is limited. It is pertinent to remain visible and use this time to build customer expectations. Marketing should focus on being empathetic and relatable – it is not the time for “come to my destination” type marketing. The #TravelTomorrow campaign is one to ride on. Communicate what your business is doing to be better post-COVID and what inclusive tourism strategies are being implemented to ensure sustainability not only for the business but also for nearby communities. Answer questions like “What is the business story? Why does it matter?” As the lockdown is loosened and people start to travel, show that people are coming to your destinations. This will drive confidence, and more visitors will come. If you are unsure of how to craft this kind of messaging yourself, there are numerous communications professionals out there that can support this process.