The visit is meant to give our target audience a teaser of the mouth watering Gauteng lifestyle events – Gaoganediwe
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Gauteng Tourism this past weekend showcased the best of Gauteng’s lifestyle events in Gaborone, straddling fashion, music and adventures which they say Batswana can experience at the province in South Africa.
The activation termed the #GPLifestyle featured a Pop Up Shop of creatives at Masa Square; a fashion and music cocktail event at Masa Hotel; Soweto Bicycle Ride Experience on the streets of Gaborone and a Gauteng Province Night Live Experience at Cigar Lounge on Saturday night.
“The Botswana visit is meant to give our target market a teaser of the mouth watering Gauteng lifestyle events and create market access opportunity for our township enterprises and products as part of the provincial government programme- as well as opening doors for cross boarder collaborations in the drive towards integrated regional tourism promotion as envisaged through initiatives like the South African Development Communities (SADC) uni-visa project,” explained Gauteng Tourism Head of Marketing Barba Gaoganediwe.
He explained that they were focusing on promoting their lifestyle events in Botswana because of the potential of the market. “Batswana visit South Africa, Johannesburg in particular for business, leisure, shopping and visiting relatives or friends. Arrival figures from Botswana into South Africa and Gauteng in particular have remained positive and we are not taking anything for granted,” he said.
According to Gaoganediwe, events like Moretele Park Tribute Concert, Joburg International Arts Alive Festival, Standard Bank Joy of Jazz, Africa Fashion and Soweto Derby among others were popular among Batswana.
“We have identified the period of July to March as our main events peak season in Gauteng with the bulk of these events focusing on lifestyle activities. We receive both domestic and regional visitors whose sole reason to travel to our destination is to look for inspiration, check on the latest fashion and lifestyle trends, shop for both personal and retail resale usage,” he added.
He further advised Batswana to explore other opportunities like trade and investments when they visit Gauteng, “It could also be an opportunity for Batswana to see how our events are packaged while in attendance.”