Global Public Relations and Digital Communications Services NEW

South African Tourism (SA Tourism), a Schedule 3A public entity responsible for marketing South Africa as a leisure and business events destination, is procuring an integrated global public relations, corporate communications and digital PR agency. The appointment is a 36-month retainer that includes applicable production and third-party services, subject to periodic performance evaluation. The agency will support both leisure and business tourism objectives across international and domestic markets, contributing to national targets of 15 million international tourist arrivals and 2 million jobs by 2030.

The scope of work covers co-creating global PR and communications strategy, digital PR content strategy (including content creator and influencer strategy), corporate communications, brand advocacy and destination brand strategy. Key deliverables include AI-enabled media listening, sentiment tracking and performance analytics; a measurable ROI model; market-specific adaptation of campaigns with regional hub teams; media relations, press briefings and familiarisation trips; trade-facing PR; advocacy network development; and corporate and reputation management, including crisis and issues management, misinformation detection and social media community management. Reporting requirements include weekly status updates, monthly management reports, quarterly reviews, annual brand and competitor reviews, and a closing handover report in the final 30 days of the contract. The preferred bidder must physically attend monthly, quarterly and annual meetings at the SA Tourism regional office in Sandton, Johannesburg. A pitch presentation will address a current reputation challenge, namely travel cancellations linked to media reports on marches against illegal immigrants.

Bidders must meet mandatory administrative requirements, including Central Supplier Database (CSD) registration, attendance at the compulsory briefing session on 13 November 2026, signed official forms and, where applicable, signed consortium or subcontracting agreements. Functionality is assessed out of 100 points in two stages, with a minimum of 70 points required in each: a desktop evaluation covering digital PR and crisis communication capability, two PR case studies from the last 36 months for international multi-market audiences, and team profiles (senior lead with 8+ years, mid-level manager and day-to-day executive with 5+ years each, with qualifications), followed by a pitch presentation. Qualifying bidders are then scored on price and specific goals using the 80/20 or 90/10 preference point system, with points available for black-owned, black women-owned, black youth-owned and EME/QSE enterprises. Bids must be submitted through the official e-procurement portal by 12:00 (South African time) on 4 December 2026; late submissions and email submissions are not accepted. Prices must be quoted in ZAR and include VAT.