The sleepy Karoo village of Nieu-Bethesda is set to become firmly established on the Southern African youth and adventure tourism map by the backpacking fraternity. Made famous by Helen Martins’ Owl House, and the dramatisation of aspects of her life, outsider art, the valley and its people by world-renowned writer Athol Fugard, the beautiful hamlet in the Karoo’s Sneeuberg mountains will be the setting for Backpacking South Africa’s (BSA) annual Youth and Adventure Travel Conference.

BSA Eastern Cape is hosting what has become the premier event in South Africa’s fast growing youth travel industry from the 3^rd to 5th of June 2008.

According to Ian Alleman, owner of The Owlhouse Backpackers in Nieu-Bethesda, the theme for the 2008 conference – “Off the beaten track: tourism for all”, is highly appropriate to this remote village, where despite its quaintness and beauty, most inhabitants have little access to employment opportunities, government grants are the biggest single income and tourism has become vital to the sustainability of the local economy. Indeed, backpacking and youth travel is big business and makes a significant contribution to the global tourism economy.

According to the World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation, young travellers aged 16-24 are the travel industry’s fastest growing segment. They represent over 20% of all international visitors and generate over 100 Billion US Dollars each year. In Australia - one of South Africa’s main competitor destinations – for example, backpacker and youth travellers spend in the region of AUS $ 3 Billion each year. This roughly equates to some R18-billion in economic contribution. According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), South Africa receives about 90 000 backpacker and youth travellers each year. These travellers contribute over R900-million annually in direct spend to the economy. Despite their average daily spend being less than that of many other tourists, their total trip spend is on a par, and sometimes more, because of their longer length of stay. International backpackers to South Africa stay an average of 42 days, and typically visit Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces.

The DTI points out that backpacker and youth travellers’ interest in rural areas and authentic experiences directly benefits certain of the country’s poorer regions and communities. A case in point is the Wild Coast where the backpacking industry has already made a significant contribution to local economic development.

Likewise, the 150-odd delegates that will visit Nieu-Bethesda and have the little village almost bursting at its seams will contribute to the development of the local economy.“In keeping with the theme of the conference, a significant portion of the delegates will be housed in township homes, and catering supplies, decorations, craft and many other items will be sourced locally to ensure the local micro-economy gets the maximum benefit from this event,” says Dave Martin chairperson of BSA Eastern Cape.  Furthermore, he says Nieu-Bethesda could benefit even more from post-conference promotion and recommendations by delegates who come from all parts of the South African travel and tourism sector.

“Feedback from 2007 conference was overwhelmingly positive with 91% of delegates stating that networking opportunities were either ‘good’ or ‘brilliant’.”

BSA reports the 2007 conference proved to be on the cutting edge of youth tourism internationally with many of the themes addressed during the conference subsequently being addressed on the global stage at the World Youth and Student Travel Conference in Istanbul.

This year, BSA has a diverse, exciting range of speakers. Cheryl Carolus (Chairperson of SAN Parks Board and former CEO of SA Tourism) and Hugh Bartis (Chairperson of SATSA Eastern Cape) will be talking on transforming the industry in order to provide a more diverse spectrum of products to a broader range of customers. Anne Paul from Re-Action! will be giving practical advice on how to tackle HIV/AIDS head on in the industry. Dr Guillaume Johnson will be looking at trends in international marketing with a special focus on multi-cultural marketing.

Tim Whitaker will be leading a panel discussion on practical steps one can take in greening backpacking businesses and managing the load shedding challenge. The legendary raconteur Allan Weyer (Boet and Swaar) will liven the conference up with a wide-ranging talk on the country's history and what lessons can be learned and applied to businesses today. In addition to the speakers, BSA promises evening entertainment including a comedy night, charity auction and the legendary Tidal Waves reggae band performing live at the Gala Evening (theme “the Road to Mecca”).

The conference is expected to be attended by a broad spectrum of role players in the tourism industry from across the SADC region , including:

* Lodge owners

* Safari companies

* Tour operators

* Adventure companies

* Hire car companies

* Other transport companies

* International youth travel organisations

* “Voluntourism” companies

* Language Centres

* Government departments – notably the DTI.

Conference fees include entrance to the conference on the 4th and 5th of June as well as all meals from the evening of the 3rd through to the evening of the 5th.

For more information contact Ian Alleman at The Owlhouse Backpackers on (049) 841 1642 or visit the BSA website at www.backpackingsouthafrica.co.za