Digital events showcasing brand Out & About SA hit the “live” button today, 23 November 2022, sharing some of the best events across SA in a two-fold mission.
“The pandemic brought the South African events industry to its knees, and many entertainment organisers and venues either faced immense struggles, or had to shut down completely,” says Out & About SA (O&A) Editor, Kerry Hayes. “As the industry begins to emerge from this business drought, O&A has been established to give performance artists, events organisers, and entertainment venues a place where they can have their upcoming events showcased and reach the SA public.”
“Parallel to that,” she continues, “we also want the online space to be a place where the public can go to find some of the country’s best events – so they can start getting out & about again and shake off the pandemic fatigue”.
A heart for tourism recovery
The South African tourism sector was battered by the pandemic, with events being one of the hardest hit. “Building up an income-generating business again, after two years of struggle, isn’t an easy feat,” says Hayes. “Getting your event in front of the public’s eye can be challenging, so O&A wants to become a ‘bridge’ that helps the events industry to achieve this, as well as encourage people to travel again to attend events across the country.”
Events are a major part of the tourism economy, and feed into other tourism channels like accommodation, transport, destination activities, and even the culinary space. “When people travel for events, especially if it’s to other provinces, they will be looking for places to stay, places to eat – and if they’re making a small getaway out of it, other things to do while in the destination. This is a great opportunity for multiple players in the tourism space to caplitalise on an event taking place, whether it’s a concert, lifestyle or sporting event.”
Working together is key
Many entertainment providers are one-man-bands, and don’t have the resources to reach a wider audience. “Numerous entertainment businesses will post their events on Facebook and Instagram, but not have the knowledge or resources to spread the word about their events to a bigger audience,” says Hayes. “This is where O&A comes in – helping these creative events entrepreneurs to reach that wider audience; but also supporting the bigger, more established, entertainment businesses keep – and amplify – the momentum of their events reach.”
“So working together is key,” continues Hayes. “We encourage entertainment providers to help us help them by sending us info on events in the music, dance, food, beverages, motoring, lifestyle and fitness sectors. By working together, we can help entertainment businesses grow and thrive again – and help the SA public get out & about in our beautiful country.”
