December 16/23 2009 I No. 2088
SOuTHERN AFRiCA’S TRAVEL NEWS WEEKLY
INSIDE
TRAVEL NEWS WEEKLY
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SEaSoN’S GrEETiNGS!
TNW wishes all its readers a joyful festive season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. Now Media’s offices close on December 15 and reopen on January 5, 2010.
2010 – it’s looking good! As 2009 draws to a close, industry bosses are optimistic about what the future holds. Melody Brandon reports on their predictions for 2010… the international exposure the World Cup brings will stimulate inbound tourism beyond 2010.” Rodney James, ceo of 1time, is optimistic about business and leisure travel in 2010. “If 2009, and especially December, is anything to gauge the prospects for the travel industry by, then my hopes are very high for 2010. Although the usual slower months of January and February are expected.”
“If 2009, and especially December, is anything to gauge the prospects for the travel industry by, then my hopes are very high for 2010.” Retail bosses say they are cautiously optimistic about what the new year will bring and warn that recovery from the 2009 recession backlash may take time. Ceo of Travel Vision, Dharmesh Kooverjee, estimates that the impact of the recession will reverberate in the first half of 2010 before there is a noticeable improvement. “We have already
experienced an increase in future bookings. There are two important elements to survival next year: be mindful of costs and have a good working relationship with your bank!” Sure Tours ceo, Miles Willis, agrees that the road to recovery will be a slow one. “I think the economy will recover about 1% to 2%. 2010 will definitely be an improvement on 2009. I don’t think we should get carried away next year. The healing will begin and there will certainly be positive spin-offs from the Soccer World Cup.” Wally Gaynor, md of Club Travel, says while the 2010 Soccer World Cup will pose challenges for agents, there are still opportunities to get clients out of the country over June and July. “The planes coming in June will be full and will go back empty. The planes going back in July will be full but empty coming back in, giving South Africans who want to leave the country an opportunity to do so at a good price.” Asata ceo, Robyn Christie, predicts that while it will be a good year, 2010 will be not be easy. She says communication within the industry is vital for a successful 2010. “Retailers need to have more effective
‘Tis the season Thompsons ran an in-house competition with all the departments decorating their offices for the festive season. Much fun was had by all while painting, cutting, pasting and adding sparkles to heaps of decorations. Pictured here are Vivienne Mellows and Sashnee Moodley exchanging gifts Photo: Tijana Huysamen dialogue with suppliers and vice versa. We all need to make sure we understand each other.”
Valuable lessons
Sales and marketing manager of Budget Car Rental, Ray Booth, believes a number of useful lessons have come from the challenges of 2009. “We should be proud of ourselves for being able to adapt and move forward. I think it has reminded us all that with a bit of thought and proper planning we can get through anything.” He adds that the recession has forced the industry to
“get back to basics”. “Being aware of your expenses and cutting back where you can are important for the survival of any business at any time.” Ce of Avis, Wayne Duvenage, is also confident that 2010 will be a good year for the South African car-rental industry. “From the outset, the year will be positively up on 2009. I expect this to be one amazing year that we will reflect on for years to come and one which, if we get it right, will win us lots of tourist friends for decades, and possibly the Olympics.” For a look at the year that was, go to page 12. n
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NDUSTRY bosses are optimistic that 2010 will be an improvement on its predecessor and say lessons learnt from a tough 2009 will stand the industry in good stead for the year to come. “We may be toasting the New Year in with sparkling wine rather than Champagne but we have all made it through 2009!” says BA spokesman, Stephen Forbes. The airline’s operating challenges are well documented. In early November BA reported an operating loss of £111m (R1,4bn) and a pre-tax loss of £292m (R3,6bn). “We’ve been through a terrible year and there will be no sudden bounce back. We can’t just keep doing business as usual and hope for the best – innovation and finding smarter ways of working will be key for 2010.” Sue Botes, BA commercial manager for South Africa says the airline is considering increasing flights as World Cup-related travel interest peaks. “We don’t think there’ll be a sudden bounce back in the outbound market in 2010, as this will be linked to how the economy performs. We anticipate a slow recovery. Long-term we’re hopeful that