Ms Tokozile Xasa, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, today launched R7 million 2010 Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in Bloemfontein, Free State province. The state of the art VIC is located in the historic old Presidency precinct building and was built in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as South Africa expects legions of fans to converge to watch this most popular sport.
The VIC is an investment which will provide tourists with a one stop service and will be able to assist with information on a wide range of tourism products including tourism information enquiries, reservations, accommodation, tours, vehicle hire, entertainment, dining, sports, adventure, shopping and travel tips.
The target markets for the VIC’s include international tourists, local tourists, bed and breakfast establishments, homesteads, guesthouses, hotels, Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMME’s), booking agencies and tourism agencies.
The Bloemfontein VIC covers 412 square metres and has two administration offices, a retail area for locally produced crafts, a foyer and reception area for welcoming of guests, display area, an interactive area that can also be utilised as a meeting venue as well as ablution facilities.
The draw of the 2010 Soccer World Cup on 4 December 2009 indicates that the kick-off of 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa is now much closer and these facilities and services will enable the VIC to play a meaningful front-line role and enhance tourism marketing. It has been benchmarked against the best Visitor Information Centres in the world and designed to service the needs of the visitor in the most effective way.
As part of the national VIC project, centres are being rolled out in five host cities, namely Port Elizabeth, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein and Nelspruit. These less visited provinces were earmarked by the department for the VIC’s in preparation for the World Cup, but also to grow their tourism arrivals from both local and international visitors. The department has already launched Visitor Information Centres in Port Elizabeth in Eastern Cape, Polokwane in Limpopo province and Rustenburg in North West.
The Visitor Information Centres Enterprise Network Systems (VICENSYS) used in the centres was developed in South Africa and is designed to cater specifically for the South African market.
The information technology component of the project was critical, as one of the key objectives of the project was the development of a cost effective information and reservation system. Using international best practice, a new visitor’s information system, namely VICENCYS, was developed to be used at all the information centres.
VICENSYS has the ability to allow users to plan and finalise a travel itinerary by means of touch screens and Web based technology. Furthermore, the system offers the tourist their own unique itinerary, which is accessible from anywhere in the world.
The Bloemfontein Visitor Information Centre is fitted with the VICENSYS system connected to a fully equipped Local Area Network (LAN) and will provide information such as accommodation, travel, shopping centres, car rentals and a host of other tourism facilities and services.
Speaking during the launch, Deputy Minister Tokozile Xasa said, “Government is upgrading infrastructure throughout the country which are 2010 legacy projects. In this province, the government is upgrading roads to expand the carriage way in response to increased users. R35 million has been spent over the last year and a half on improving the facilities at the Bloemfontein Airport in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Our department, in conjunction with Mangaung Local Municipality, is contributing by building this VIC which plays an important role in tourism marketing and leveraging the tourism benefits to all players in the tourism industry because it exposes visitors and domestic tourists to choices they would not easily access before since some tourism businesses lack resources for marketing. This VIC introduces to tourists the user-friendly integrated system which will ensure seamless movements to all tourism attraction sites and facilities available in this province.”
The idea behind the information technology system was to integrate and standardise the technology component throughout South Africa to allow the visitor to have a seamless travel experience before, during and after the World Cup. It will also afford the visitor the ability to access information from any location in one of the five host cities.
In line with marketing South Africa as a tourist destination, the government viewed hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup as an ideal opportunity to erect or upgrade existing structures to house Visitors Information Centres (VIC) in host cities. Apart from creating easy access and awareness of accommodation facilities and attractions within an area for tourists, the VIC also creates a medium for SMMEs and HDls, engaged within the hospitality industry, to advertise their products.
The partners and stakeholders in this initiative are Department of Tourism, Mangaung Local Municipality and Anix Consulting.
For media enquiries contact:
Moses Rannditsheni
Tel: 012 310 3901
Cell: 082 448 2450
Luvuyo Shasha
Tel: 012 310 3899
Cell: 071 215 6373
Qondile Khedama
Tel: 051 5507 8255
Issued by: Department of Tourism
2o November 2009
