SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER: TOURISM

Wesgro is the official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape. We are looking for an influential, future-focused leader to join our Tourism Team as Senior Portfolio Manager: Tourism.

As Senior Portfolio Manager: Tourism, you will ensure that tourism promotion activities are research-led, commercially focused, aligned to brand strategy, and deliver measurable return on investment (ROI) for the province.

You will drive innovation, unlock growth markets, inspire collaboration, and position the Western Cape as a world-class year-round destination of choice

Reference Number: SPMT/03/2026

Purpose of this Job:
The Senior Portfolio Manager: Tourism is responsible for leading and delivering high-impact destination marketing and tourism growth initiatives that strengthen the competitive positioning of Cape Town and the Western Cape in domestic and priority international markets.

This role provides strategic leadership across leisure tourism promotion, international market development, stakeholder engagement, itinerary and product packaging, and integrated destination marketing execution. The incumbent drives market expansion in key growth regions including India, China, the Middle East, Brazil, selected African markets, and priority domestic segments.

Requirements:

• A relevant Bachelor’s degree in Tourism, Marketing, Business, Hospitality Management, or a related field.
• A postgraduate qualification will be advantageous.
• Minimum 5–10 years’ experience in tourism promotion, destination marketing, international tourism trade, or a related field.
• Proven experience in developing and executing tourism promotion strategies and international market development initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience working with international travel trade, tour operators, media, and tourism stakeholders.
• Experience in project management, partnership development, and delivering measurable ROI on marketing or tourism initiatives.
• Experience in destination marketing, itinerary development, and tourism product packaging.
• Exposure to international markets such as India, China, the Middle East, Brazil, Africa, or domestic tourism markets will be advantageous.

Knowledge & Competencies:

• Strong understanding of tourism industry trends, destination marketing, and international travel trade dynamics.
• Ability to develop strategic market plans, manage budgets, and track performance against KPIs.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills.
• Excellent project management, planning, and organisational skills.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to analyse market research and apply insights to tourism promotion strategies.
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams including brand, communications, and research.

Key Responsibilities:

• Tourism Growth Leadership.
• Lead the conceptualisation, planning, execution, and evaluation of strategic tourism and hospitality projects and partnerships from inception to completion.
• Serve as project owner for priority international growth market strategies, including international tourism promotion partnerships in new markets.
• Develop annual market action plans with clear KPIs, budget oversight, and measurable ROI.
• Oversee development and quality control of destination collateral, including playbooks, guides, campaign toolkits, and market-specific sales materials.
• Support the brand team with seamless integration between leisure tourism promotion, brand positioning, communications, and digital marketing initiatives.
• Provide a consolidated oversight of tourism-related content creation.

Leisure Tourism Promotion:

• Package and promote Western Cape tourism products for domestic and international markets, aligned with demand trends and market readiness.
• Lead itinerary development.
• Support the development of annual destination guides and market playbooks, ensuring consistent positioning and messaging.
• Collaborate with the Brand team to:
- Align campaign messaging to tourism trends.
- Amplify regional events.
- Support domestic and international marketing campaigns.
- Ensure effective digital and social media integration.
• Identify new tourism experiences and industry content that enhance visitor engagement and storytelling.
• Support amplification of regional events, with a focus on growing events in townships, small towns and districts.
• Lead the Made in the Cape integration within leisure tourism, including hosting tourism buyers at Made in the Cape Hosted Buyers’ Programme, as well as the onboarding of tourism buyers and products on the Cape Trade Portal.

International Trade & Stakeholder Engagement:

• Build and maintain high-value relationships with:
  - International Travel Trade.
  - Travel Media.
  - Tour operators.
  - Industry associations.
  - Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs), Local Tourism Offices and Associations.
• Work in partnership with South African Tourism and Regional Tourism Offices to deliver coordinated trade and media hostings aligned to national priorities.
• Represent the organisation at major industry trade shows and platforms.
• Proactively follow up on trade leads beyond scheduled diaries to maximise conversion and long-term partnerships.
• Drive Joint Marketing Agreements (JMAs) and ensure effective negotiation and delivery of measurable outcomes.
• Provide ongoing support to regional stakeholders and contribute to quarterly RTO forums.

Research-Led Market Strategy:

• Work closely with the Research to:
  - Apply market intelligence to campaign design and itinerary development.
  - Identify emerging source markets and niche segments.
  - Monitor competitor destinations and visitor trends.
• Ensure regional spread and cross-selling opportunities are integrated into all market strategies.

Experience Development:

• Identify and package products and experiences that enhance visitor engagement and encourage longer stays and geographic spread.
• Identify SMME’s, township and community tourism product that is market ready for itinerary packaging purposes.
• Assist in ensuring tourism platforms, including the website, feature up-to-date and compelling content.
• Contribute to tourism website maintenance including:
  - Provincial tourism landing pages.
  - Thematic routes and microsites.
  - Campaign-specific digital assets.

Hosted Engagements & Operational Excellence:

• Oversee and ensure high-quality delivery of trade, media, and influencer hostings.
• Implement and maintain SOPs for influencer, media, and trade engagements.
• Ensure accurate tracking, reporting, and post-engagement evaluation of hosted activations.
• Safeguard stakeholder satisfaction and reputational integrity.

The successful candidate will report to the Head of Leisure Tourism.

How to apply: Email your most recent CV to vacancies@wesgro.co.za.

Quote the full position title and reference to this advert.

**Reference:SPMT/03/2026

Closing date: 17 March 2026