Media Release: Immediate. 10 September 2009. Mossel Bay Tourism

Mossel Bay’s ‘Unbelievable’ South American Reception

Mossel Bay launched its South-South Strategy in Brazil and Argentina during SAA’s ‘Explore South Africa’ Workshops, which were held in Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires last week – and, according to Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm, the town received a “surprising, unbelievable, and inspiring” reception from the South Americans.

“Both events were very well attended by the media and the tourism trade,” said Ms. Holm. “But, whilst other towns and regions were present at the shows, it was clear that the groundbreaking work that’s been done during Mossel Bay’s bidding process (for a team base camp in 2010) has had enormous impact, and that it has positioned Mossel Bay firmly in the minds of this exciting new market.”

The workshops took place on the 1st of September in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and in Buenos Aires on the 3rd.

“We had a media conference in Sao Paulo at which I was asked to speak, and, besides our Legacy Projects and the launch of the South-South Strategy, I mentioned the connections between Mossel Bay and Portugal – which struck a particular chord, and prompted many people to come to our stand to talk to me later in the day: the story of the Post Office Tree at the Dias Museum Complex seemed to have particularly resonance for the audience.

“I also spoke on our ‘We Speak Spanish’ campaign, which seeks to train 400 locals in conversational Spanish ahead of the World Cup next year.

Ms. Holm said that the people of Sao Paulo seemed particularly keen and ready to travel, and that one of the immediate results of the workshop was that a Brazilian Television crew had decided to visit Mossel Bay in the near future.

“If the Sao Paulo workshop was a success, Buenos Aires was even bigger, and this was unexpected because it seemed from the arrangements that it was a smaller event.

“It was put together by SAA and our Argentinean Embassy, and it was unbelievably busy. Thank goodness I had the help of volunteers from Armiger (the Argentine / South African company that runs our Language Faculty in Mossel Bay): their staff members, Professor Virginia Gamba, her brother, Carlos, and Pedro Luis de la Fuente, all made themselves available to promote the town, and all of us were kept busy for the entire day.

“Louis Harris, our 2010 Coordinator, has done an amazing job of positioning Mossel Bay in the minds of the Argentines, and it was clear that ours was the busiest stand on the show.

“Everyone knew where Mossel Bay was, and everyone was keen to come and visit, and showed an interest that extended well beyond the World Cup. Of course sports tourism was on everybody’s minds – perhaps because the Argentines have often visited us on rugby tours – and we had enquiries about rugby and hockey as well as soccer, with the Nautilus Bay Sports Academy drawing particular attention.

Ms. Holm (who already speaks English, Afrikaans and Dutch) recently completed her introductory, 90-hour Spanish Course in Mossel Bay, and  said that she was able to converse “fairly fluently” in Spanish during the show.

“It was a great help, and really demonstrated our commitment to the idea that, if you want to welcome people to your town, you need to be able to speak to them.”

Mossel Bay recently unveiled its new Spanish language web site – www.mosselbay2010.com.ar – as part of the launch of its South-South Strategy, and Ms. Holm delivered Spanish language brochures on Things To Do in Mossel Bay to both Brazil and Argentina.

Ms. Holm said that Victor Rambau, South Africa’s acting ambassador for Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, made a point of coming to meet her as the representative of Mossel Bay Tourism.

“That was typical of the kind of reception we experienced, and it happened because of Mossel Bay’s already existing profile in Argentina – and for that we can only thank the work that’s been done in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup.”

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Tags: armiger, learn spanish, mossel bay, south-south strategy, we speak spanish