![[Success Story] Zaghouan Aventures Drew More Mountain Enthusiasts Than Ever During Traditionally Low Season.](/static/7046eccf36cd33847d2027821556d21d/81124/image_64e027242f.webp)
In the summer of 2023, following USAID Visit Tunisia’s “Nature and Adventure SME” influencer marketing campaign,“Zaghouan Aventures”, a locally-run business led by passionate mountaineers with over 30 years of experience gained a phenomenal number of followers on Instagram and a significant surge in sales during its traditionally low season.
“The generated bookings this summer are truly a miracle outside of our high season that starts in October. Usually, during the low season in summer, only a handful of few people would book their experience due to high temperatures that can go very high in July, and August. It was not profitable. People coming under 47 degrees is proof that the campaign was a huge success! We started distributing the flyers you provided us to introduce our activities to new potential clients as well as potential partners at networking events such as the AdventureConnect Tunisie, the first networking event held by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) on September 20th in Tunis. We are very grateful for the positive impact of this campaign.” — Mohamed Khomsi, Founder of Zaghouan Aventures, a mountaineering experience provider in Zaghouan and one of the supported SMEs through USAID “Nature & Adventure SME” campaign.
The “Nature and Adventure SME” campaign is a nationwide digital marketing campaign promoting 12 “visitor-ready" and “market-ready” businesses offering adventure-focused experiences directly to travelers. The summer campaign runs from June through October and aims to increase SMEs’ brand awareness by 30% as well as their sales by at least 10%.
Ensuring Sustainability and Strengthening Competitiveness through Content Marketing
To ensure sustainability and strengthen their competitiveness, Zaghouan Aventures received a custom content package and marketing materials including a promotional flyer in both print and web versions, a high-quality photo album as well as Reels tackling many editorial themes such as Zaghouan’s beauty, tips and tricks, local vibes and highlighting main attractions such caving, ziplining, canyoning and rappelling.
The content package is USAID Visit Tunisia’s legacy that Zaghouan Aventures will carry out through their journey and beyond with the freedom to adapt it, improve it through the years and use it as they see fit to support their online presence and support their drive-to-store marketing initiatives and meet their marketing and communications goals for their growth.
Download their digital flyer in Arabic! Download their digital flyer in French! Download their digital flyer in English!
Increasing Tourism Experience Bookability through New Partnerships
With mediation efforts provided by USAID Visit Tunisia at the start of the campaign to create fruitful partnerships between experience providers and digital marketplaces platforms, Zaghouan Aventures succeeded in developing a partnership with Tunisia Experiences, a rising digital marketplace platforms in Tunisia.
In Tunisia, the majority still prefers to book their tourism experience directly – and only – from the experience provider rather than making a purchase online from a marketplace platform for many reasons that range from the online payment security concern to the anchored old mindset and consumerism habits in the society.
Through the campaign, USAID Visit Tunisia, Zaghouan Aventures and their marketplace partners succeeded in contributing to an important change in consumerism behavior of tourism experiences and products in Tunisia: new booking alternatives online that are secure, efficient and profitable for both the clients and providers.
