E-MARKETING SEMINAR PAYS OFF FOR PARTICIPANTS
(Posted 22nd August 2014)
The e-Marketing Workshop last Friday, supported by the Uganda Hotel Owners’ Association and attended by a full capacity 50 participants, has, according to one attendee ‘hit the nail on the head’ by offering relevant content and improving knowledge on the use of the new media when advertising one’s products and services.
Areas covered during the workshop included hands on training on Free and Paid for digital marketing tools, digital content (photos and written content), websites or booking functionalities, social media for accommodation and channel management tools for all participating SMEs.
According to CEO of Hotel Link Solutions Uganda, Sula Kakande, has the company began hosting a series of workshops to enhance the viability of accommodation SMEs in Uganda by improving their e-marketing capabilities.
Mr. Sula said the specific purposes of this initiative are as follows:
(a) To implement best in breed e-commerce/e-marketing tools for participating SME accommodation providers, along with the training needed to take best advantage of the tools provided.
(b) To introduce the concept of social media marketing to participating SME accommodation providers and appropriately apply it in their e-commerce websites.
Mr. Sula then added: ‘We have a comprehensive suite of solutions to fit the needs of any size accommodation from the largest 5-star resort to a one-bedroom homestay. Most importantly, we are local in every destination we service, meaning you always have a helping hand available to optimise the systems for your business and support you as your business develops’.
Tourism, though long neglected by government in terms of resource allocation, has become an increasingly important sector for the Ugandan economy and has emerged as one of the leading foreign exchange earners, though industry observers agree that recent taxes on the sector have turned the government’s position that tourism is an invisible export on the head. Most tourism businesses fall into the Small and Medium Enterprise category, generally called SME’s, providing employment as well as entrepreneurial opportunities for Ugandans. That however also brings with it challenges in terms of embracing the latest global trends and state of the art technologies, a deficit the HLS workshops have started to address.
Mamerito Ssenfuma, the Commercial Director of HLS in Uganda, added his own voice when he said: ‘As technology connects more and more people each day, Getting Your Accommodation Online isn’t an option, it is a MUST! Gone are the days going online simply meant a website, some photos, and contact us. Today, customers want more stuff from your website’.
The next workshop will be held at a venue still to be announced on September 19th, so watch this space for upcoming details.
