Tourism gets a boost from website marketing

New products that are set to change the way that Namibian Tourism and Hospitality Industries are being marketed digitally, were introduced at the launch of Rainmaker, an International Google Partner Company, on Wednesday at the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre.
Thomas Mueller, CEO of Rainmaker in the Middle East and Africa introduced Google Street View Trusted and Google Hotel to Namibia, which allows the Tourism and Hospitality Industries to market their establishments in a modern, dynamic and interactive way, which creates a dynamic digital presence on the internet and all at a cost to the hotelier starting at N$7950.
Mueller said that the majority of people use the internet to plan their travels and holiday destination and that less people go to travel agency for this and this is where their products become important to the industry. “Studies have shown that hotels, lodges, guest houses, B&B’s or other venues and restaurants featured on Google Street View Trusted get ten times more visitors and receive up to 48% more booking,” he added. Furthermore he said people in the industry need to make their website smart phone friendly which makes it easier for visitors to share pictures and videos with their family and friends, which will give them more exposure.
“Our products present a perfect and professional solution and starting point for the Namibian tourism and hospitality industry to dramatically optimize their booking numbers for the ever increasing number of direct online booking travellers,” said Mueller.
“It is therefore of utmost importance that the Namibian hoteliers and lodge owners be equipped to manage their own digital presence and inventories without depending on commission earning distribution partners for bookings alone,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Rainmaker has already appointed five Namibians in to its global team to date.