South African National Parks' (SANParks) new online reservation, billing system and forum is an inevitable step for the tourism group to remain competitive internationally, says environmental affairs and tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
According to SANParks head of communications Wanda Mkutshulwa, the site's new features are being used by the organisation as an information hub, as well as a business tool. "The introduction of the bookings online will definitely make SANParks more competitive."
Part of that competitive strategy is the ability to track which pages are visited on the site and which forums topics are well-liked, explains Mkutshulwa. She says this enables SANParks to track the popularity of the various parks.
The online booking system has driven the site's traffic up by 20 000 unique visitors since November 2006, attracting a total of 74 000 unique visitors during last year, according to latest figures.
"We have 1 430 registered clients, and have received bookings to the value of R681 950 since the billing system opened. The largest online reservation deposit amount was R14 871," says Mkutshulwa. The billing system was launched in November last year.
Generally, the public has been satisfied with the Web site since its launch, she adds.
The billing system has allowed SANParks to better track the demographics of park visitors. "There has been a healthy mix between local and international visitors to the site. We have a forum on the site, composed of both local and international participants, who have all displayed a passionate attachment to our national parks."
Not for 2010
Mkutshulwa says the implementation of the new billing system was not created in response to the tourism possibilities brought by 2010. "We developed the site to better respond to SANParks' business needs and the needs of our stakeholders."
She adds that Eskom's rolling blackouts have had no effect on the booking system. "The site is hosted internationally in order to facilitate faster connection for users across the world."
SANParks says the system has been designed to accommodate added functionality in the future: "But for now, SANParks is monitoring user feedback and assessing how the system performs."
In response to the launch of the system, Van Schalkwyk says: "This was the inevitable next step for SANParks to take, to keep us internationally competitive."
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