In-market representation in the UK for African tourism

What in-market representation means

A sales presence in the market that buys from you, not only in the one you operate in.

An African lodge, hotel or DMC sells much of its trade business to buyers in other countries. In-market representation puts a sales presence in one of those source markets — here, the UK — so the relationships with tour operators, travel agents and trade media are kept up between visits. The same role goes by several names: a UK representative, a representation company, hotel sales representation, or a general sales agent (GSA).

In-market representation and sales trips from Africa

Both have a place. They do different jobs.

Sales trips and roadshows from the destination put the owner or sales manager in front of buyers for a concentrated week or two. They are valuable, and a UK representative can plan and fill them. What they cannot do is keep the conversation going for the rest of the year: follow up after a FAM trip, retrain an agency team after staff changes, answer a product manager’s question in UK working hours, or be in the room when next season’s programme is being planned. That continuity is what an in-market representative provides.

Destination representation and supplier representation

Two kinds of in-market work that are easy to confuse.

Destination representation is usually commissioned by a tourism board or regional marketing body to promote a whole country or region — consumer campaigns, media relations and trade awareness for the destination as a whole.

Supplier representation is commissioned by one business — a lodge, hotel, camp or DMC — to get that business programmed by tour operators and recommended by agents. It is sometimes called hotel representation or hotel sales representation.

Kusa Connect’s work is supplier representation. Destination campaigns raise interest in a whole region; a supplier representative makes sure a particular property is the one the trade reaches for.

What UK in-market representation covers

The trade representation services a UK-based representative provides, in practice.

• Operator account management — regular meetings with the product managers at UK tour operators who decide which properties go into an Africa programme.
• Agent and consultant training — so the people taking enquiries in the UK can describe the property accurately and match it to the right client.
• FAM trips — getting the right consultants and product managers to experience the property, and following up afterwards.
• Trade shows and events — Kusa Connect can represent a property at WTM London, Experience Africa, Africa’s Travel Indaba and other events, with meetings booked in advance.
• Trade PR and digital — newsletters, social and media work aimed at UK buyers.
• Market intelligence — which operators programme the area, how comparable properties are positioned, and what the trade is asking for.
• Reporting — regular updates on who was met, what was discussed and what happens next.

The services overview sets out each of these in more detail.

How lodges find representation in a new source market

Start from the demand you can already see, not from a list of countries.

1. Choose the market on evidence. Which source markets book you now, through which operators and DMCs, and where enquiries come from.
2. Ask the people already selling you. DMC partners and existing operators know which representatives are active and respected in their market.
3. Use the trade networks. Associations such as ATTA for African tourism, and trade shows such as WTM London and Africa’s Travel Indaba, are where representatives and suppliers meet.
4. Shortlist and test. Ask each candidate which operators they have met recently, who would handle your account, how they are paid and who else they represent. Nine questions to ask covers this in full.
5. Agree scope and reporting before signing. What will happen in the first year, how it will be reported, and what the fee covers.

For the UK specifically, the guide to UK rep companies for African travel applies these points to lodges, hotels and DMCs, and UK and Ireland representation explains where the Irish trade fits.

Where Kusa Connect fits

A UK-based, founder-led representation company that works only with African suppliers.

Kusa Connect represents safari lodges, luxury hotels and DMCs in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa to the UK travel trade. It is an ATTA member, and its founder, Graeme Watson, is a former SATSA Board Director and KZN Chapter Chair with nearly twenty years in tourism across the UK, South Africa and the USA. The portfolio is kept deliberately small, and the fee is a fixed retainer agreed up front and scoped to each property.

If you run a lodge and want to know how this would work for you, looking for a UK rep for your safari lodge? walks through it step by step, or you can talk to us directly.