ChinAfrica: What inspired you to enroll at the Nairobi Confucius Institute? Why did you turn to strategy consulting?
Sandra Rwese: My older sister told me about it and really encouraged me to enroll. And so I did. The language classes were a bit heavy at first. However, I gained exposure to the language structure itself, the use of varying tones and the complexity of arrangement. After two semesters, I decided to focus on business application of the Chinese experience. I started to offer cross-cultural training for corporate executives who were doing business with China. I marketed aggressively and even held open sessions during weekends in Nairobi. However, that was not well received and I almost gave it up honestly.
But during my online research one day, I discovered a huge potential in the Chinese outbound travel market and the rising consumer power based on per-capita earnings. I was truly impressed by the evolving trends and spending patterns of Chinese leisure travelers who are heading abroad. So I immediately began digging into research information in this area. In essence, you could say that Chinese Business Trainers experienced a focal shift in business development - moving from corporate training to tourism strategy and product innovation.
What training courses does your company provide? Who are the main customers?
I started my consulting services because of the obvious understanding gap between Asia and Africa, including social and business settings. I help bridge this gap for clients by revolutionizing their marketing strategies, finding translators, and transforming their tourism facilities to appeal to Chinese arrivals.
My customers mainly come from foreign countries such as Germany, Denmark and Iceland. Africa, except South Africa, has been fairly slow in capturing the Chinese tourism market. However, there are still opportunities in targeting and serving specific segments of hospitality, such as heritage tourism, backpacking hostels and ecotourism.
What factors allowed your products to earn China’s Product Innovation Award?
The Chinese Tourism Welcoming (CTW) Awards is held annually and covers various categories. CTW, a prestigious international prize, is administered by leading industry think-tank Chinese Outbound Tourism Research Institute. I entered the contest in 2012 after I developed a comprehensive training curriculum titled Chinese Tourism, Conferencing & Service Delivery. This innovative tourism product was designed for colleges and is actually the first of its kind in East Africa. Consequently, I won the 2012 TEW Awards - Silver Award for Product Innovation. What a great honor it was for my country, Kenya, considering the stiff competition coming from other A-list hospitality operators such as Switzerland Tourism, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Canada Banff Lake Louise Tourism and Northwest Airlines.
You noted that “the hospitality industry in Africa will not grow in the coming years unless it taps into the Chinese market.” Why?
Traditional source markets are yet to recover from the financial recession. The global debt crisis severely affected guest arrivals from the EU and North America - creating inconsistency in tourism markets over the past five years. The trend is frightening and it should have signaled an immediate reaction in marketing strategy. Countries like Malaysia, Canada, Australia, France and South Africa successfully managed to appeal to Chinese travelers earlier, and now they are strengthening their appeal to growing Chinese outbound travelers by introducing more products and services.
What problems exist for Kenyan businesses attempting to cooperate with the Chinese outbound tourism market? How can they be improved?
What initially hinders local hospitality [development] is the mental block brought by the use of different languages. Yet, language isn’t a barrier. Hundreds of professionals help bridge the cultural and language gap. Then, emerging markets like China are very new to the rest of the business world. They should be approached differently especially while devising strategic planning, demographic positioning and marketing.
For companies and tourism commissions, the solution is to establish dedicated emerging market teams to provide workable plans that strengthen both cooperation and research on evolving demographic trends in BRICS countries. Teams should be responsible for networking with Chinese tour agents, driving loyalty programs, managing social media activities to expand the influence, appointing brand ambassadors, promoting products and services at major tourism expos, and building a brand identity.
What do you think of the Chinese outbound tourism market? What is your expectation for China-Kenya tourism cooperation?
Chinese outbound tourism is both tiered and cyclical. It varies regionally and perennially. Currently, travelers’ personal preferences have significantly changed. Holidaymakers aren’t satisfied with quick tours. They pay more attention to trips with interesting themes. Therefore, theme-based branding is critical to hospitality services.
Kenyan service operators must reconsider their strategic plans in order to tap into new markets like China. Product innovation is therefore at the heart of competitive advantage and tourism growth. Hardly any universally accepted guidelines exist to help tourism providers successfully navigate the unfamiliar territory they now face, but there are agents that can help them walk through their strategic transformations, especially in identifying cluster markets and tour partners within China. In addition, our local hospitality colleges must equip graduates with skills to serve arrivals from emerging markets.
What do you think of women’s influence in the business world?
Women have steadily gained prominence in the commercial world since gender discrimination has proven to be a hindrance throughout these tumultuous financial times. I strongly advocate for more women to cultivate their entrepreneurial spirit much earlier in life and not wait until preretirement years to forge ahead into business. Also bearing in mind the high global unemployment rates, women may be required to relocate to fill influential job openings. The secret is to start early, and not to compare yourselves to others.
