South Africa’s major city tourismprofiles recorded varied Facebook activity and engagement in September, amid renewed attention on digital transformation and tourism.
South Africa’s major city tourism destinations recorded varied Facebook engagement during September. The results came during Heritage Month and renewed attention on digital tourism. UN Tourism marked World Tourism Day on 27 September with a focus on digital transformation and AI. Tourism Minister Patricia de Lillelaunched Tourism Month under the theme “Growing South Africa’s Tourism Sector in the Digital Era”. Gerom Media’s research found varied levels of digital activity among major city tourism profiles.
Audience Sizes Vary Across City Tourism Profiles
Love Cape Town recorded the largest audience among the six profiles measured, with 628180 followers. Durban Tourism followed with 364497 followers, while Buffalo City Tourism recorded 78195. Nelson Mandela Bay had 24763 followers during the measurement period. Johannesburg Tourism Company and Visit Tshwane recorded smaller audiences of 4123 and 3682 respectively. Content activity also varied significantly between the profiles.
Johannesburg Tourism Company published the most posts, with 62 during the measurement period. Love Cape Town followed with 51 posts, while Durban Tourism published 32. Nelson Mandela Bay and Visit Tshwane each published 13 posts. Buffalo City Tourism recorded four posts during the same period.
Engagement Levels Differ Despite Audience Size
Love Cape Town generated the highest audience response, with 10099 reactions, comments, and shares. The total included 7065 likes during the measurement period. Durban Tourism recorded 1381 interactions across its content. Johannesburg Tourism Company generated 296 interactions despite having 4123 followers. Buffalo City Tourism recorded 44 interactions from an audience of 78195 followers.
According to Gerrit Davids, MD of Gerom Media, “The results demonstrate that audience size alone does not explain social media interaction. Content activity and audience activation are equally important.” Davids added, “We use close to 50 different metrics to compile the rankings, including data on how positively followers view a destination, interaction rates, comments and reposting of content. This allows us to compile a full profile of where cities could improve in engaging their followers in this new era of AI and digital engagement,”
Different Patterns Emerge Across the Destinations
The research identified three distinct patterns across the city tourism profiles. Love Cape Town combined a large audience, high content activity, and strong audience response. Durban Tourism had a large established audience and substantial interaction. Johannesburg Tourism Company recorded high content productivity despite its smaller audience. The research also highlighted differences between maintaining social media profiles and actively developing destination stories online. Travellers increasingly use AI to build itineraries when planning trips. Social media comments, reviews, and recommendations also form part of destination decision-making.