South African Tourism announced the appointment of Mitalee Karmarkar as the Head of Marketing and Communications, India. Karmarkar joined South African Tourism from the Consulate General of Sweden, where she was the Senior Officer for Communications, Media and Cultural Affairs for the past 4 years. Her appointment comes as South African Tourism aims to boost its brand image as well as garner eyeballs and top-of-the-mind recall to position South Africa as a world-class tourism destination.
Her responsibilities include developing, implementing and managing strategies to help South Africa Tourism achieve this goal. A strong and confident negotiator, Karmarkar will also spearhead the marketing and media buys for SA Tourism in order to bolster the country’s international stature.
Karmarkar has over 11 years of experience in the Communications and Media Industry. She graduated with an Honors degree in Economics and has completed her Masters in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Xavier Institute of Communications (Mumbai, India).
Karmarkar has held a variety of roles in marketing, business development and communication and comes with a wealth of experience in the Tourism Industry. She has a passion for emerging markets, especially in Asia, and is a strong advocate of understanding consumer needs.
Commenting on her appointment, Karmarkar said, “Tourism is my passion and I look forward to bring value to the Indian market in my new role. I hope to explore new opportunities to continue the upward trajectory that South African Tourism has enjoyed and help it ascend to a prominent height. Working along with our media and trade partners towards increasing consumer interest in South Africa and contributing to its growth is also something I am looking forward to.”
“Mitalee’s expertise in marketing and experience of working in several agencies, corporates and consulates for many years make her an excellent fit for the role, which requires managing South Africa’s 8th biggest tourism market – India. South African Tourism is delighted to welcome Mitalee, and we look forward to working with her” said Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head for Middle East, India and Southeast Asia.
South African Tourism’s trade and consumer initiatives this year will be aligned towards driving awareness and demand for their adventure and wildlife offerings. They will also be focussing on promoting the New Towns of SA within both the consumer and trade spaces. This year the tourism board hopes to surpass their achievements of the last year, which saw 97,921 Indian visitors (Jan – Dec 2017) to South Africa and was a great year for them.