SA's reputation

Article tools

	PRINT ARTICLE
	SEND TO FRIEND

Services

	Subscribe to newsletters		Feeds
	Become a Facebook fan		Follow Moneyweb on twitter

What the world thinks of us.

South Africa's natural beauty is about all we have going for us, according to the other 33 countries that were surveyed as part of the Reputation Institute‘s 2009 CountryRep^TM study. 22 000 consumers from the 34 largest economies in the world were asked their perceptions of other countries as well as their own country.

The results were not pretty, out of a possible 100 South Africa only scored 44 for our overall reputation in the eyes of the world. This score places us in the weak and vulnerable category and the only countries viewed worse than us were South Korea, Ukraine, China and Russia. Switzerland and Canada topped the tables with scores over 70.

The survey looked at three key areas:

An appealing environment - attractiveness (physical beauty) of the country, the enjoyment opportunities and lifestyle.

An effective government - ease of doing business, effective government, progressive social and economic policies and participation in the global community

An advanced economy - quality of products, innovation, technology and contribution to global culture

But just taking the perceptions of foreigners about our country as the gospel truth would be misunderstanding the point of the exercise. This is about how we are perceived rather than reality and it talks more to the need for South Africa to improve its image abroad. One of the biggest hurdles for South Africa is that so few people actually know anything about our country.

There are certainly areas that we were strongly under-rated and we as a country need to be working on our brand to improve this image. Interestingly as South Africans we rate our own country far more highly and this is where the opportunity exists.

The two biggest gaps between the scores given by other countries and South Africa's self assessment related to tourism. As a place for both enjoyable opportunities and lifestyle we came 31 out of the 34 countries surveyed. Even for beauty we came in at 24/34. Yet as South Africans we rated ourselves highly in this area. This is the opportunity for the World Cup - to show foreigners that we are more beautiful than Australia (they and Canada topped the tables for beauty) and that you can have a great holiday experience.

Having personally travelled extensively in Europe, USA and Canada in the last few years I recently spent a family holiday in Cape Town this year - I could not help but make comparisons. As a Joburger it pains me to say this, but Cape Town is definitely one of the best tourist destinations in the world. The beauty and attractions were on par if not better than anything I experienced abroad; service was excellent and the real selling point is that it is a fraction of the cost. Then of course we have our bushveld which is a unique experience and which can cater to anyone - from a five star luxury lodge to excellent value for money Parks Board accommodation.

If we can convince tour operators, airlines, hotels and restaurants not to tear the ring out of their pricing over the World Cup, we will be able to sell South Africa as a leading tourist destination. And even more importantly than returning tourists is that beauty, lifestyle and enjoyment of a country has the most influence on overall perceptions. No matter how many IMF statistics you may trundle out on how South Africa is doing, people invest, travel and migrate based on perception.

On a more sombre note - any member of parliament reading this article please note that the one area that South Africans and foreigners were most in agreement was the lack of effective government - South Africans rated it nearly as badly (40/100) as the global community (35/100). If government wants to write this off as purely perception, best it starts to portray a better image. How about starting with Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa repaying the taxpayers for his extravagant hotel bills in the same way that British MPs are repaying their overinflated expense claims?

Write to: Maya Fisher-French: maya@moneyweb.co.za