Tourism Development Web-Promotion

Context

Tourism is widely known and accepted as a sector that has the potential to contribute to job creation and income generation in Mozambique, thus contributing to a broad based and sustainable development. The question is how to turn potentials and opportunities into reality?

The internet (through websites and the use of search engines like Google, Yahoo and others) offers a unique chance for tourist organizations and attractions to be “discovered & visited“ by people from around the world, as the internet is capable of promoting a destination by showing its social and cultural richness as well as its local attractions and tourism facilities.

Nevertheless, in emerging markets like Mozambique, still many local initiatives and enterprises are not yet in a position, often also not yet aware, of the opportunities to present and market themselves to a wider community through the net.

Contribution to the Community

This project aims at contributing to the promotion of sustainable tourism development, by enabling many of the small formal and informal local initiatives of potential interest to the tourism market to be accessible and known via a promotional Web Site, thus providing additional and “insight” information about Mozambique as a tourist destination.

Increasingly travelers from abroad use the internet to choose potential holiday destinations according to their preferences (by entering keywords into the search engine). Offering a local “insight” will not only contribute to better information to actual and potential visitors, but also make people looking for the place or initiative during their planned visit. Therefore the promotional website will increase the benefits of tourism to the local community through increased demand.

The result will be a colorful “potpourri” on one promotional website, composed of a yearly increasing number of Web Pages representing local initiatives. In addition, each of the participating local partners will receive some business cards with their contact details, including the website, to market their business by themselves and the destination in general.

The Assignment – A Venture between TU + IT Students

This site will promote local economic, social or cultural initiatives (either formal or informal) that do not have the possibility of launching their own website, but are considered as relevant for local tourism development.

In this assignment Tourism and IT students, both in their second year of their particular studies, will work together in the establishment of a comprehensive Web Site. For tourism students the assignment is part of the module Managing Hospitality, for information technology students the assignment is part of the module Web Development 1.

The objective of this assignment is to exchange skills between Tourism and IT students as well as give them the practical experience to identify and collaborate with local initiatives or entrepreneurs and deliver a real product that promotes the individual business. Beside the own professional experience the Tourism students will learn how to create a Web page and the IT students will learn how to promote a local product or business or business initiative.

Students Tasks and Duties in the Assignment

Students will work in groups of 4 or 5 members comprising of at least 2 students from IT and at least 2 students from Tourism. The work must be original and it is not permitted to reproduce or copy from an existing Web Site. As this is a knowledge exchange exercise that will deliver one particular product, you will not distinguish what is supposed to be done by IT and what is to be done by Tourism students.
 
To put the clients Web Page into the collection on our Promotional Tourism Web Site, a limitation to 1 page that fills at least the screen size up to maximum 3 times the length of a screen (with go back facilitations) is put in place.

Steps for a Successful Assignment, Customer Relationship and Tourism Promotion

•    Each group of students identifies two or three potential local tourism-related establishments or initiatives; e.g. this can be a restaurant, bar but also a cultural group, art shop, music band, or some “secret” beaches etc. and presents its preferences to the TU module coordinator.
•    In consultation with the module coordinator one initiative is chosen and during a visit of the chosen establishment or initiative an agreement for your promotional website will be established.
•    During the visit a conversation between the group and the beneficiaries will take place about the context and opportunities, as well as information gathering (eventually including pictures) about their product or initiative
•    Texting (including keywords) will be done by the group with the goal to promote the individual business, social or cultural initiative.
•    An Web Page draft (including own or downloaded pictures) will be developed.
•    The proposed Web Page will be presented and discussed to the beneficiary/client and necessary changes will be agreed on.
•    The Web Page will be finalized as well as10 business cards for the partner (that includes the name, contact details as well as the website).
•    All beneficiaries will be invited each year to the presentation of the individual Web Pages and receive the promotional business cards.
•    The individual Web Pages will be put on the Promotional Tourism Web Site (administered by UCM).

Contact

UCM – Universidade Católica de Moçambique
Faculdade de Gestão de Turismo e Informática
Avenida 25 de Setembro 725, Caixa Postal 336, Pemba – Cabo Delgado
Tel 272 21969 – Fax 272 21720 – Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it – Internet www.ucm.ac.mz