Issue 1 (Jan/Feb) 2012 by Tourism Tattler

Contents Issue 1 of 2012 (Jan/Feb)

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PUBLISHER Tourism Tattler (Pty) Ltd. PO Box 891, Umhlanga Rocks, 4320 KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Company Reg.No.: 2006/015252/07 Website: www.tourismtattler.co.za MANAGING EDITOR Des Langkilde Tel: +27 (0)32 947 2554 Cell: +27 (0)82 374 7260 Fax: +27 (0)86 651 8080 E-mail: editor@tourismtattler.co.za Skype: tourismtattler EDITOR Marjorie Dean Tel: +27 (0)11 886 9996 Fax: +27 (0)11 886 7557 E-mail: communications@satsa.co.za Skype: satsa-comms ADVERTISING MANAGER Bev Langkilde Tel: +27 (0)32 947 2554 Fax: +27 (0)86 656 3860 Cell: +27 (0)71 224 9971 E-mail: bev@tourismtattler.co.za Skype: bevtourismtattler SUBSCRIPTIONS Email: subscriptions@tourismtattler.co.za Skype: subscribetourismtattler DESIGN & PRODUCTION Michelle Bode Tel: +44 1873 812131 / Cell: +44 7783 985762 E-mail: michelle.bode@gmail.com Skype: michellerobynbode

Official Trade Journal of: The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) PO Box 900, Ferndale, 2160 Tel: +2786 127 2872 Fax: +2711 886 755 Webite: www.satsa.com The Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA) PO Box 7381, Half Way House, 1685 Tel: +2711 315 2420/1 Fax: +2711 315 2422 Webite: www.retosa.co.za

10 Chances to win a prize

05 06 08 09 10

11 12 13 14 16 18 20 21

22 23 24 25 26

Trends that will shape 2012

EDITORIAL From the Editors desk / Cover Story Letters to the Editor Message from the RETOSA Chairman Message from the SATSA President Tattler Appointments

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GLOBAL ACHIEVEMENTS & ACCOLADES IIPT Founder Awarded ENVIRONMENT COP17 Summary MARKETING How to leverage Trade Shows 2012 Consumer Trends Gearing up for Growth Understanding the Russian market NICHE TOURISM Art Tourism TECHNOLOGY Gadgets & Gizmos

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CONTRIBUTORS Abel Abednico Mabuse Adv. Louis Nel Alexander Boguslavsky Anita Mendiratta Annelie Barkema Des Langkilde Dr. Peter Tarlow Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome Evan Pickworth

AFRICA ENVIRONMENT Water conflicts in Africa Africa's growing economies PROCUREMENT Procurement for Africa RESPONSIBLE TOURISM & CONSERVATION Wildlife property evaluation TRADE NEWS Trade Snippets

BOTSWANA INVESTMENT Kalahari Lodge Developments NICHE TOURISM Cultural Tourism

MAURITIUS NICHE TOURISM Spiritual Heritage Tourism

KENYA RESPONSIBLE TOURISM & CONSERVATION Wildlife law risks

SEYCHELLES ACHIEVEMENTS & ACCOLADES Gold Landscape Award

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SOUTH AFRICA BUSINESS & FINANCE Market Intelligence Report LEGAL & LEGISLATION Service levels & the CPA 1/2012

PHOTO GALLERY Namaqua National Park RESPONSIBLE TOURISM & CONSERVATION Thula Thula Private Game Reserve RISK & INSURANCE Underwrites tourism contribution SAFETY & SECURITY Tourism Safety Initiative TRANSPORT Mercedes Viano Test-drive

Ingrid van der Westhuizen Julian Freimond Mandy De Waal Marjorie Dean Martin Hatchuel Michelle Geis Paul Kahumbu Scott Ramsay

ADVERTISERS 02 SATIB Insurance Brokers 10 Savage, Jooste & Adams Attorneys 23 NOX Rentals 24 Hotel Amenities Supplies 44 BnB Sure 48 Mercedes Commercial Vehicles ADVERTISING Bev Langkilde +27 (0)32 947 2554 / +27 (0)71 224 9971 / bev@tourismtattler.co.za Liz Malcomess +27 (0)21 882 9020 / +27 (0)82 321 0330 / wcape@tourismtattler.co.za Tina Baer +27 (0)13 750 0582 / +27 (0)83 256 6599 / mpumalanga@tourismtattler.co.za Thusani Mulaudzi +27(0)83 291 8329 / +27 (0)83 445 4667 / limpopo@tourismtattler.co.za Disclaimer: The Tourism Tattler is published by Tourism Tattler (Pty) Ltd and is the official trade journal of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA). The Tourism Tattler digital e-zine, is distributed free of charge to bona fide tourism stakeholders. Letters to the Editor are assumed intended for publication in whole or part and may therefore be used for such purpose. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publication are provided in good faith and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Tourism Tattler (Pty) Ltd, SATSA, its staff and its production suppliers. Advice provided herein should not be soley relied upon as each set of circumstances may differ. Professional advice should be sought in each instance. Neither Tourism Tattler (Pty) Ltd, SATSA, its staff and its production suppliers can be held legally liable in any way for damages of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from any facts or information provided or omitted in these pages or from any statements made or withheld or from supplied photographs or graphic images reproduced by the publication.

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

EDITORIAL

From the Editor’s Desk If 2010 was the party, 2011 was definitely the morning after. It was a difficult year for all of us in tourism, but most of us have survived, and learned a few lessons about how to make our way into this New Year of 2012. We know it won’t be easy, but as they say in South Africa “Wat maak nie dood nie, maak vet!” In tourism, we are leaner, meaner and tougher. Much is expected of us, and we can deliver. It’s not all doom and gloom. We go into this year seeing a surge of interest in Africa from around the globe. It’s not a tsunami, but the tide is coming in slowly. We see investment into Africa, international hotel groups looking to invest and improve the quality of our products. Our aviation industry is developing and catching up. And one area where we are really doing well is in the adoption of Responsible Tourism. In many ways Africans have always been good at recycling and reusing. We had to! When you are poor you can’t afford to just ‘throw away’. We are now very aware that water and power are scarce resources, and we have to make the most of what we have. See our article on possible water conflicts.

From recycling waste to changing light bulbs, to recycling water, distilling water from air, and planting trees, to making craft items from scraps, and creating world-class food from local produce, we are showing we have what it takes to live in a more austere and less wasteful world. We look at serious issues carefully – see our letters on the subject of proposed developments in the Kruger Park. We are studying new markets – see our article on Russia. We are looking to develop new niche markets. We are not afraid of new technology – see our articles on using social media. We have learned that we dare to reach for the stars – and get there! And above all we are developing our pride in who we are – Africans. We have unique peoples, some very ancient – and we have our own unique cultures, as well as our perhaps better known unique animals and birds to look after and preserve. We are learning that what we have in common is more important than what divides us. It’s the African way! Marjorie

Cover Story Our cover image, reproduced with acknowledgement to Australian photographer Julia Cormie, features matriarch Frankie and her new baby calf Ilanga at Thula Thula, an Exclusive Private Game Reserve and Safari Lodge in Zululand, South Africa. This edition of the Tourism Tattler is dedicated to the owner of Thula Thula Private Game Reserve – an acclaimed author, conservationist and founder of The Earth Organisation – Lawrence Anthony. His books ‘Babylon’s Ark’ and ‘The Elephant Whisperer’, which reached best-seller status, have created international awareness on the plight of wild animals in captivity and a greater understanding of African Elephant relocation, while his next book ‘The Last Rhinos’ is aimed at preventing the imminent extinction of Northern White Rhino by recounting his adventures in South Africa, the Congo and Sudan. Following his remarkable rescue initiative of the animals and staff in the Baghdad Zoo, early in the Iraqi War, Anthony founded The Earth Organisation (TEO) - a unique, independent, science-based environmental organization dedicated to bringing effective, long04

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term solutions to the global problems that we all face. One key aspect that sets TEO apart is the understanding that, for a solution to truly be a workable, long-term answer, it must address and benefit by far the greater number of elements involved in any situation, i n c l u d i n g Mankind’s global expansion, commerce, industry, people, jobs, other plants and animals - not just a single aspect of the problem or a particular species. Read more about Thula Thula and Anthony’s vision for a Royal Zulu reserve trust on pages 42 and 43.

COMPETITIONS

READER COMPETITIONS Win one of 5 ‘Kruger National Park ~ Facts and Fables’ audio CD box-sets To enter this competition simply ensure that you are opted-in to the Tourism Tattler mailing list by subscribing at http://www.tourismtattler.co.za/ subscribe and provide the answer to the following question, which may be found on this page, via e-mail: “To which worthy nature conservation cause will Bounty Productions be donating a percentage of the KNP Facts & Fables sales proceeds?” E-mail your answer with ‘KNP Facts & Fables’ in the Subject field to editor@ tourismtattler.co.za by 08 February 2012. Remember to include your contact details. The first 5 correct e-mails received will win a prize, the Rules, Terms and Conditions of which can be viewed here. The Kruger National Park (KNP) is vast and to truly appreciate the history of landmarks within the park requires an experienced and knowledgeable guide. Now ‘Kruger National Park Facts and Fables’ audio CD box-set can be your personal park guide. The listener can drive, listen and be informed in a highly entertaining way. The included map with its color-coded and numerically marked points of reference relating to historical and cultural sites of importance, correlates with the audio clips on the accompanying three CD’s, making this audio information system a terrific self-drive guide through the KNP. Although it focuses more on the cultural and historical aspects, it includes wildlife information and the KNP rules and regulations in an easily accessible format. This treasury, of over three hours of recorded knowledge, pays tribute to the custodians of this land from ancient times to present. These treasures represent

the cultures, people and events that played a role in the history of the KNP and are conserved along with the park's natural assets. Through ‘Kruger National Park – Facts and Fables’ it is Bounty Productions’ mission to provide a more holistic and comprehensive educational experience and very importantly use this as a fundraising tool for conservation and community development. Any person, institution, organisation or association supporting Bounty Productions ‘Kruger National Park – Facts and Fables’, will be supporting a worthy cause in nature conservation, namely the South African National Parks’ Honorary Rangers ‘Counter Poaching and Ranger Support Services (CP/RSS)’ National Project, which makes our current primary aim to aid in raising funds in protecting our nation’s rhino populations. Bounty Productions management has pledged to donate R7.00 per box-set sold. The Bounty Productions Kruger National Park – Facts and Fables box-set is currently available in all retail outlets within the Kruger National Park and is available in English and Afrikaans. Bounty productions also wishes to appeal to the Travel and Tourism industry to consider purchasing this product as a complimentary gift for their clients. For more information contact Bounty Productions on +27 (0)79 861 7754 or e-mail: bountyprod@gmail.com

Win one of 5 ‘Searching Africa’ books To enter this competition simply ensure that you are opted-in to the Tourism Tattler mailing list by subscribing at http:// www.tourismtattler.co.za/subscribe and provide the answer to the following question, which may be found on this page, via e-mail: “Who is the author of ‘Searching Africa’ and by whom is the book published?” E-mail your answer with ‘Searching Africa Competition’ in the Subject field to editor@tourismtattler.co.za by 08 February 2012. Remember to include your contact details. The first 5 correct e-mails received will win a prize, the Rules, Terms and Conditions of which can be viewed here. After the return of South Africa to the international family, it became possible for David Robbins to travel regularly in other parts of Africa. He had at last, he said, been released from the bondage of apartheid into his broader home. The result of this release is ‘Searching Africa, Classic African Travel – from Windhoek to Tangier’, containing over twenty travel narratives that take the reader from the continent’s expiring settler south to the Sahara and beyond.

Through graphic descriptions and revealing encounters, Searching Africa charts the progress of this award-winning writer through such countries as Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Zaire (now DRC), Malawi, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda (shortly after the genocide and subsequent invasion), Uganda, Brazzaville Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone (during the civil war), Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco, searching not for ‘solutions’ to Africa’s ‘problems’ but simply for the tactile experience of being at close quarters to the dramas and pains of contemporary Africa’s profoundly wrenching transition. Searching Africa is published by Porcupine Press and consists of 544 pages, including 24 pages of colour photographs. ISBN: 978-0-9869979-1-4. Recommended retail price: R249.00. About the author: David Robbins has received numerous awards for his writing, beginning with a CNA Literary Award in 1986 and culminating twenty-four years later with a Lifetime Achievement Literary Award supported by the South African Department of Arts and Culture. He is widely regarded as a writer of significant insight and ability. He began publishing in 1985. His books include travel and short fiction, as well as some biography, history and socio-political analysis.

For more information contact Porcupine Press on +27 (0) 791 4561 or e-mail info@porcupinepress.co.za

WINNER OF THE ISSUE 6 2011 COMPETITION Congratulations to Pat Raab of First Resort Management whose e-mail entry for the Elephant Lake Hotel competition was the first correct entry to be received by the Tattler’s Executive Editor on 04 November 2011 at 08h39 am. Pat won a weekend away, including 2 nights accommodation for 2 people sharing at the Elephant Lake Hotel, breakfast daily, an estuary boat cruise and a iSimangaliso excursion.

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SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, I think the most pressing problem from a tourism slant (right now in South Africa – Ed) is the proposed hotels for the Kruger National Park. SAN Parks seems extraordinarily sensitive to any criticism of their plans, even going as far as to ban some users from the SanParks blog. The Kruger National Park has shown with the many private lodges that have been allowed in recent times, and which are almost all suffering low occupancy rates, that mass tourism in five-star hotels is not the way to go. From my personal point of view, National Parks are not a place for hotels – even if they are built in the form of glorified lodges. I fully understand that the National Parks have to be run as a business, but the main concern should be about the conservation of animals and the fauna and flora. The south of Kruger is already overcrowded, particularly during the high seasons. The extra traffic of – not only the additional tourists but – the staff required to run the hotel will only increase the congestion on the roads within Kruger. There is already a problem with speeding delivery vehicles, speeding tourist and general disregards of the rules of the park, particularly at a major sighting such as leopard or lion. There are many more concerns I have such as water shortages, gates staying open late, etc. Our National Parks should be kept as simple as possible as I believe that that is what attracts people who visit the parks. There are many lodges on the border and concessions within the park for tourists who do not want to stay in the self-catering accommodation already offered. Our natural parks are about animals and nature and should not be turned into rowdy holiday resorts. For more information and facts regarding this topic I suggest you contact AIKONA, which stands for: A – Against K – Kruger N – Nature I – Interference in O – Our A – Asset Gerhard Smit is the AIKONA convener – gmlsmit@telkomsa.net

Neville Thompson The Tattler consulted various concerned parties for their opinions on this contentious matter – Ed. SANParks replies to the letter submitted by Mr. Thompson. Glenn Phillips writes: The letter submitted by Mr Thompson, clearly shows that the arguments against hotel development in Kruger are unfounded and are driven by emotions and not fact. In an attempt to answer the concerns raised I will talk not only to the issues raised but also to broader issues facing conservation authorities. South African National Parks (SANParks) are the custodian of National Parks for the People of South Africa. Sadly, in South Africa, and indeed elsewhere in Africa, National Parks are not currently relevant to the broader population. With a growing population and associated poverty surrounding many of our protected areas, there is growing pressure on these areas to provide direct socio-economic benefits to these communities. This is evidenced by the fact that over 2/3 of the Park has been subject to Land Claims. It is incumbent on us to understand these pressures and to respond to them. For this to happen we have to adapt current thinking and find new ways not only to manage protected areas, but to connect with a broader society, by doing so we will ensure that we become more relevant to the broader population and this will translate into greater willingness for these areas to remain intact for future generations. Conservation or rather, preservation, and purist practices of the past no longer apply in the modern society. We have to acknowledge that. Recent articles written by scientists and conservationists support this. (Link for download: Resource Lockdown_Game&Hunt_Dec2011.pdf) The Evolution of Tourism in SANParks Currently SANParks Manages 22 National Parks and hosts over 4,5 million visitors across these parks annually. The formal establishment of Tourism Division in National Parks was only approved in 1999 and the Tourism pillar in SANParks is now recognized as one of the key pillars ensuring the future sustainability of SANParks. Generating tourism revenue is now an official conservation strategy and policy, and is built into all senior staff key performance areas, and is implemented and monitored through the balanced scorecard system. The objective of operating tourism facilities and activities in National Parks is: 1. To supplement limited Government funding in order to fund the core

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mandate of Bio-diversity Conservation (Only 5 of the 22 Parks are able to provide surplus revenue from tourism operations). 2. To provide the residents of South Africa and visitors from other countries with the opportunity for spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational, commercial and tourism opportunities within the National Parks system. 3. To ensure that National Parks provide socio-economic benefits and public enjoyment to the communities who reside both in and around these conservation areas. Legal Mandate, Principles And Values Relevant To Tourism CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE The SANParks mandate is underpinned by Section 24b of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996 which states that: Everyone has the right – (a) To an environment that is not harmful to their health or well- being; and (b) To have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations through reasonable legislative and other measures that: i. Prevent pollution and ecological degradation; ii. Promote conservation; and iii. Secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development. SANParks was initially established in terms of the (now repealed) National Parks Act, 57 of 1976 and continues to exist in terms of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2003; with the mandate to conserve; protect; control; and manage national parks and other defined protected areas and their biological diversity (Biodiversity). As a public entity, SANParks is also governed by the Public Finance Management Act, Act 1 of 1999 (as amended by Act 29 of 1999), and it is listed as Schedule 3 Part A: 25 public entity. SANParks gets its Tourism Mandate from The National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act 57 of 2003 (PAA). Section 17 of the PAA deals with the purpose of a protected area. 17 (i) The purposes of the declaration of areas as protected areas are – (i) to create or augment destinations for nature-based tourism. Section 20 of the PAA deals with the declaration of National Parks. 20 (2) (c) A declaration under subsection (1) (a) may only be issued to – (c) provide spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and tourism opportunities which are environmentally compatible. The need for tourism revenue South African National Parks has, since its inception relied, in some shape or form, on tourism revenue to support its conservation mandate. The Kruger National Park (KNP) has over time become, and still remains, the flagship Conservation and Tourism product offering within the National Parks system. Visitation to the KNP has grown steadily since the 1920’s. Tourism goes through cycles, and is clear that it is affected by what is happening in society, both domestically and abroad. As demand grew, the Park expanded its tourism offering, this has always been the case from when the first facilities were developed in the late 1920’s. Each time a new development took place there was an outcry from certain quarters of society. Historically there were no EIA processes to ensure public participation or sound environmental management practices Today we are subject to legislation in this regard. There has always been a steady growth in visitation. At no point in the past has this been capped. There has instead been an attempt to manage peak periods through a gate quota system. The quota system is based on a ratio of cars per km of road available in a specific area. From an experiential point of view, the question is; what is too busy? The answer to this is a very subjective one. It is almost always founded on individual beliefs and expectation, and not on well-researched scientific models. There is currently no sound scientific method that can determine carrying capacity or experience. The answer, we believe, is in taking a different approach to visitor management. This would require a deeper understanding of tourist demand and expectation. We need to clearly understand what tourists do, where they do it, and for how long they do it. This would allow both the design of facilities and the deployment of resources to be more effective. This would also require a different approach to the historic and current ‘do it

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR yourself’ approach. Currently the total development footprint in the Kruger National Park is 0.20 percent. This leaves tremendous scope for responsible product diversification and development. Facts regarding the Safari Lodge development at Malelane: • The Safari Lodge is not intended to be 5-star. A 4-star hotel is envisaged at Malelane aimed at the domestic market. • A park-and-ride system is required, that will mean visitors will park at the gate and be transported on a shuttle service to the hotel. All activities will be guided. • The facility will be using the same source water as did the Malelane Sun (Crocodile River). However the operator is contractually bound to a water consumption target, as well as other conservation and responsible tourism related targets, something that we cannot manage if the hotel is not on state land. • The current Concession Lodges are indeed experiencing difficult trading conditions. The Game Lodge Market at large is feeling the pressure and this is due to the recession, specifically in source markets. SANParks are working with our partners to ensure that they get through this downward cycle. SANParks on the other hand, focuses on the domestic market and is currently achieving occupancies in excess of 70 percent nationally whilst Kruger on its own is achieving annual room occupancies of between 75 percent and 80 percent. SANParks currently provides over 85 percent of its operational funding from its tourism operations. Internationally we are recognized for this model, and in fact National Parks in other countries including the USA are looking at the South African model as a way to combat government funding cutbacks. I believe that we have to continue to diversify our product offering according to the demands of the broader population, provide more direct socio economic benefits, thereby ensuring more relevance to broader population and in the long term achieve the objective of biodiversity conservation.

Glenn Phillips, 05 December 2011. AIKONA representative Allan Eccles commented as follows – Ed. It is contended that the two upmarket hotels proposed for the Kruger National Park are contrary to the intent and spirit of the guidelines of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Protected Areas Act. It is contended that the principles and several of the clauses of the National Environmental Management Act have been breached with regard to the proposed Malelane hotel and the conference centre at Skukuza.

or arguments related to development footprints, infrastructure, services or environmental issues. These aspects are expected to be addressed by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and will be responded to once this process has been concluded. The focus of the arguments has revolved around the questions of; (a) compliance with the two acts involved, i.e. the Protected Areas Act and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA); (b) whether the State is abrogating its financial responsibility towards SANParks with its real or threatened withdrawal of the annual grant towards the operational budget and (c) the potential threats of the proposed developments to the intrinsic wilderness attributes of the KNP. The decision to embark on a primarily commercialisation route with upmarket hotels and conference centres, in contrast to a strictly naturefocused approach, has been adopted without any or, at most, minimal public consultation. In the case of the proposed hotel developments SANParks has been elusive and unwilling to be involved in vigorous, open public debate on the issue. Important information of particular relevance to the hotels, in particular, and tourism development plans for the Kruger Park, in general, has also been withheld. This is based on the following: Between April and December 2010 four requests for meetings to discuss the hotel issues were either turned down, the first by Dr Mabunda, the following three, all to Mr Glenn Phillips to whom Dr Mabunda referred me, totally ignored and no response received. Three appeals that the hotel issue be opened to a broader public debate, submitted before the commissioning of the EIA, and subsequent to the initiation of the scaled-down EIA, were ignored (no response, yes or no, received). Mr Phillips considered the EIA process adequate. The fact is that the EIA process commenced some six months after the Malelane project had been awarded to a developer. No EIA has, as yet, has been commissioned for the Skukuza hotel. Some requested information regarding the projects was received from SANParks. In some cases the information was fragmentary while additional requests in December 2010 and January 2011 have received no response. Responses to questions on what projects are in the pipeline for the Kruger Park have been tentative, inadequate or simply lacking.

Allan Eccles

It is contended that the commercialisation policy is invalid, if not illegal, due to the lack of stakeholder endorsement via public consultation / participation, as prescribed by the National Environmental Management Act. Fear exists that there are no limits or restrictions to the commercialisation programme.

The Tourism Tattler understands that the Environmental Impact Assessment is still ongoing and the matter is being given coverage in the general press. The Tattler awaits the outcome with interest. For further information on this contentious issue click here. (Link for download: COMMERCIALISATION POLICY AND HOTEL DEVELOPMENTS - Dr SCJ Joubert.pdf)

The arguments raised in this document represent the contributions that I have consistently made towards the debate. They do not consider questions

In this connection it is interesting to read that Kenya is also struggling with these same issues as reported on page 33 – Ed.

Wi n

CONGRATULATIONS to Neville Thompson who wins a pair of Dietz Monarch lanterns with the complements of Livingstones Supply Co - Suppliers of the Finest Products to the Hospitality Industry. For more information visit their website at www.livingstonessupplyco.co.za The winning letter published in the Tourism Tattler Issue 2 (Mar/Apr) 2012 edition will receive two Kikoy Sarongs, which are hand made in Kenya using quality local material. Letters should be sent by 08 February 2012 to editor@ tourismtattler.co.za

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EDITORIAL

Message from RETOSA RETOSA congratulates Zambia and Zimbabwe on having won the bid to co-host the 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly in Victoria Falls. The proclamation by UNWTO secretary general Talib Rifai came a day after he declared that the Zambia / Zimbabwe bid was the only serious, complete and comprehensive one, beating bids submitted by powerhouses like Russia, Turkey, Jordan and Qatar. The hosting will be the biggest endorser of the new brand, ‘Zimbabwe - a World of Wonders’ and a serious enabler of the tourism and hospitality industries. Hosting the summit is an achievement on its own because of the numerous opportunities that will be unlocked in the tourism business. Moreover, having the Victoria Falls as the venue is an added bonus for it automatically draws the whole world to the Seventh Wonder of the world. Zimbabwe’s tourism and hospitality industry is expected to become one of the world’s fastest growing sectors between 2011 and 2021, with a growth rate of 6,9 percent per annum and annual revenue earnings of over $850 million, a research report has indicated. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Walter Mzembi said the country is looking at achieving US$5 billion in revenue by 2015. The generality of the SADC region is endowed with natural conservancies and wildlife that if well managed,

can bring billions in tourist traffic and subsequent foreign currency, investment and other forms of interaction. The SADC – KAZA Transfontier Park Conference, which was held in the Victoria Falls resort recently saw member countries deliberating on the need for a uni-visa system to facilitate free movement of people as well as the need for a continued marketing of the animal park to increase tourist arrivals. The conference brought together SADC ministers from KAZA particularly Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The creation of a uni-visa system will facilitate the free movement of tourists, goods and services and will open up borders between SADC member states for increased trade and development. Zimbabwe subscribes, in principle, to the concept of a SADC tourism Free Trade Area as proposed by RETOSA. Talks about the South African Development Community (SADC) UNIVISA concept started in 1998 and it is hoped that a resolution will be reached soon. This will allow visitors to only visit one embassy to gain access to all 15 member states of the SADC. It was suggested that it would be ready for implementation at the end of 2002, but alas, here we are, 9 years later. The benefits are obvious. It will encourage visitors to enjoy longer holidays and to visit more than one or two southern African states without all the hassles involved.

Francis Mfune Executive Director

About RETOSA The Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA) is a Southern African Development Community (SADC) body responsible for the development of tourism through marketing and promotion of sustainable regional tourism in SADC member countries. The organisation works closely with member states, institutions and societies to ascertain their interests and priorities, to help identify potential counterparts and to promote tourism growth and development by marketing the region as a multi– faceted but single destination. For more information visit http://www.retosa.co.za/ 08

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EDITORIAL

The President’s Message Happy New Year to you! May every great new day Bring you sweet surprises A happiness buffet.

Simple things to consider at the start of 2012 Happy New Year To You As we begin 2012 – I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the SATSA EXCO and wish everyone a prosperous and happy 2012. May this be the year that your business organically grows in leaps and bounds, may this be the year that you make that deal of a lifetime, or, quite simply, may this be the best year for you personally!

Happy New Year to you, And when the new year’s done, May the next year be even better, Full of pleasure, joy and fun. By Joanna Fuchs

Discover your company and employee strengths: Discovering and developing others’ strengths gives more dividends than working on weaknesses. Look at the business and potential individuals – empower, upskill, ignite, motivate and guide. Donate for a good cause: What could be better than starting the new year with sharing a little of what you have got with those who are less fortunate?

Instead of writing a full page on niceties, I’ve decided to share some of my new year resolutions with you that should hopefully assist and equip me for 2012 if I am to weather the current financial storm and lead SATSA to prosper as an organisation:

The above are just some of my personal new year resolutions and I am sure there are plenty more out there, but, whatever they may be, be sure to stick to them, and in doing so always remember to have fun whilst doing them!

Share and connect: your ideas, your failures, your successes with one another. Network with colleagues and service providers more this year – learn more – be in touch with the latest ‘Buzz’ words in the industry, be familiar with industry trends, global tourism market shifts, which are good choices or bad choices, connect and share!

As always SATSA still remains the foremost and only tourism association of its kind in Southern Africa, ready and willing to assist you in any tourism endeavours with which you may need help.

Re-Invention: is the call in the global and local tourism market, increase and change your offering, products and services. Put back that WOW factor which once was there and now is a mere thought of something that once was good …re-invent, re-invent and re-invent is the order of the day!

SATSA is just a click of a button away on www.satsa.co.za or phone call on 011 886 9996 Have a fantastic 2012, until next time… Craig Drysdale, CMP SATSA President

About SATSA SATSA has been the Hallmark of Quality Tourism in Southern Africa for more than 40 years. Our Vision is to be the most recognised and sought after endorsement of good business practice in the Southern Africa Tourism Industry. Our Purpose is to provide domestic and international tourism buyers with quality advice and reliable information on credible tourism partners in Southern Africa. Our Aim is to help our members manage successful, profitable businesses that are part of a vibrant and sustainable inbound tourism industry. We achieve this by focusing on: LOBBYING – We champion the interests of our members with Government to ensure South Africa has a legislative and fiscal framework that allows their businesses to grow and prosper. PROFESSIONALISM – We promote best practice and encourage lifelong learning. We facilitate through mentoring of newcomers to the tourism industry, and other means, the provision of vocational and management training that will improve quality, encourage staff development and provide the prospect of a fulfilling and rewarding career path in inbound tourism. To ensure standards are maintained, SATSA members are required to update all their information every year. NETWORKING – SATSA is a trans-national organisation, but provinces in South Africa have their own Chapters, with a Chair and Committee. This allows members to be more involved in provincial matters at a local level. The chapter structure also enables SATSA to obtain detailed feedback from its members on

issues affecting the tourism industry. Through our Chapter meetings and annual conference we provide opportunities for our members to develop relationships with tourism suppliers, buyers and partners both abroad and in Southern Africa through a programme of business and social events. SATSA has an Executive Committee (ExCo), elected by members, that is charged with making policy decisions concerning the running of the organisation. The National Office is managed on a day-to-day basis by an appointed CEO, COO and staff. SATSA is committed to enhancing quality in tourism throughout Southern Africa and has signed an MoU with RETOSA to facilitate this objective. SATSA is committed to transformation in the industry and has signed an MoU with the Tourism Empowerment Council of South Africa to this effect. SATSA promotes Responsible Tourism SATSA is the only inbound non-government organisation whose members are bonded against involuntary liquidation of other members. SATSA offers members a variety of benefits from an excellent provident fund, insurance and specialist legal advice, to arbitration in case of disputes. SATSA looks after the interests of the private sector and private enterprise by lobbying government on behalf of its members - and others in the industry. SATSA works with other tourism organisations to promote and run various national recognition programmes. SATSA promotes education in tourism through its Annual Conference, its biweekly electronic newsletter SATSA RAP and its journal, The Tourism Tattler, which is available in both online and print versions. For more information visit http://www.satsa.com 1/2012

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Tourism Tattler appointed by leading Dutch and German magazines The Tourism Tattler has been appointed by publishing company Joburg Liaison as their advertising sales agent in South Africa for Mzanzi magazine, a Dutch consumer magazine for travel to South Africa and by Verlag Dieter Niedecken GmbH for their FVW Mediengruppe publications, Germany’s leading travel consumer and travel trade media group as their exclusive advertising sales agent in Southern Africa. “These agreements enable Tourism Tattler to offer our advertising clients exposure to the travel markets in Africa, Netherlands and Germany – all under one contract and invoiced in local Rand currency” says Tourism Tattler’s Managing Director, Des Langkilde. In terms of the FVW Mediengruppe appointment, the Tourism Tattler will represent their magazines, websites, supplements, advertorials, e-learning projects and other online solutions in Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. German travel market Commenting on the appointment, Heike Beller, FVW’s account manager for International markets, said; “We work in close cooperation with representative agents in more than twenty countries and have chosen Tourism Tattler as our agent for the Southern Africa region on the basis of the Tourism Tattler’s credibility and market penetration in the continent of Africa. Our respective trade communications are closely aligned and it makes sense to partner with a publisher who understands the marketing needs of operators in the African travel and leisure trade who target the German market.”

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Dutch travel market Mzanzi magazine is the first and only travel magazine in the Netherlands that focuses exclusively on South Africa. The editorial content has a strong leaning towards sustainable tourism, which is reflected in its choice of destinations and in the type of stories that Mzanzi likes to tell. Each of the four annual editions of Mzanzi comes with an inserted city guide, which highlights things to do and see in Johannesburg, Cape Town and a third city, which varies by edition. Every issue will also include practical information on accommodation, restaurants and transport as well as articles on nature and culture, wine and cooking and experiences that make South Africa such a wonderful travel destination, all written by Dutch correspondents living in South Africa. The Mzani.nl website will be launched to coincide with the ‘Vakantiebeurs 2012’ Expo (11 – 15 January) while 10,000 copies of the fist edition of the print magazine will be distributed to news stands at all major magazine retail chains in the Netherlands during the first week of March 2012. For more information or to book advertising space, refer to the list of advertising contacts on page 3 of this edition.

ACHIEVEMENTS & ACCOLADES

GLOBAL

IIPT Founder Presented with Visionary Award by International Council of Tourism Partners The Founder and President of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) Louis D’Amore was presented with the International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) Visionary Award by ICTP President Geoffrey Lipman at World Travel Market. Mr. Lipman said: “I have known Louis for 30 years. He is a true visionary and works tirelessly to spread his vision around the world for peace through tourism. He is so richly deserving of this award. Louis D’Amore has been instrumental in promoting the travel and tourism industry as the world’s first ‘Global Peace Industry’ since the founding of IIPT in 1986. His concept of peace includes peace within ourselves, peace with our neighbours in the global village, peace with nature, peace with past generations by honoring the legacies, customs and traditions passed down to us, peace with future generations through sustainable development, and peace with our Creator. His pioneering initiatives began in the mid-1970s with the world’s first comprehensive study on the future of tourism which was conducted by his consulting firm, L. J. D’Amore & Associates for the Federal Government of Canada. That study also introduced for the first time social and environmental factors in tourism. He continued as a futurist to the travel and tourism industry in Canada through the mid-1980’s during which time trends were indicating global issues such as increased tensions between East and West; a growing gap between ‘have’ and ‘have not’ regions of the world; an increasingly deteriorating environment, depleting resources, and species extinction; the peaking of terrorism; and signs of climate change. D’Amore was also forecasting that travel and tourism would become the world’s largest industry by the year 2000. Given these global issues and the growing socio-economic importance of tourism, he decided to transform his consulting firm into the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) with the aim of harnessing the global presence and power of the industry to be a force for a peaceful and sustainable world. IIPT IIPT was born in 1986, the UN International Year of Peace with a vision of travel and tourism becoming the world’s first global industry and the belief that every traveller is potentially an ‘Ambassador for Peace’.

By 1988, the First Global Conference: Tourism – A Vital Force for Peace was held in Vancouver with 800 delegates from 67 countries – a conference that turned out to be a transformative event for the travel and tourism industry, introducing a ‘Higher Purpose’ of Tourism that includes the key role of travel and tourism in: - Promoting international understanding and collaboration among peoples and nations - Protecting the environment and preserving biodiversity - Enhancing cultures and valuing heritage - Sustainable development - Poverty reduction, and - Healing wounds of conflict through tourism, culture and sport.

This ‘Higher Purpose’‚ of tourism with its capacity to generate social, cultural, environmental, economic, and political benefits, is now broadly recognized and has gained acceptance at the highest levels. Sustainable tourism development The 1988 Global Conference introduced for the first time the concept of Sustainable Tourism Development and in 1992/93 following the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio Summit), D’Amore developed the world’s first Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism for the Canadian tourism industry. He also conducted the world’s first international study on codes of conduct and best practice in Sustainable Tourism for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Since its founding in 1986, IIPT has organized conferences and summits in most regions of the world promoting and demonstrating the values of Peace and Sustainable Development through Tourism. The most recent conference in Lusaka, Zambia concluded with the Lusaka Declaration on Tourism and Climate Change. A book, ‘Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change to Tourism’, based on presentations from the conference and selected other authors, is about to be published. A previous African Conference in Kampala, Uganda resulted in the world’s first tourism legislation in support of the UN Millennium Development Goals. The IIPT Credo of the Peaceful Traveler has been distributed to travellers around the world. For more information visit: www.iipt.org or e-mail: info@iipt.org 1/2012

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ENVIRONMENT

COP17 Summary The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol, concluded in Durban, South Africa on 09 December 2011, writes Marjorie Dean. One thing is sure amid the clouds of jargon, figures and clashing claims that wafted on hot air into the Durban skies – the event was good for Durban, its hoteliers, transporters and the tourism industry there in general. There’s nothing for boosting tourism like a good international conference with thousands of delegates. And Durban did it well, as well as anywhere else on the beleaguered planet we call home. So well done Durban! Representatives from 195 countries gathered for the second largest meeting of its kind to advance the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, the Bali Action Plan, and the Cancun Agreements. The outcomes included a decision by Parties to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, and no later than 2015. The President of COP17/CMP7, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said: "What we have achieved in Durban will play a central role in saving tomorrow, today." The countries agreed to work on a new international climate change treaty that would include developing as well developed countries for the first time. The countries have agreed to decide on the modalities of this treaty by 2015 and implement it from 2020. Thus, big emitters like China, India and USA will have legal emission commitments post 2020. The developed countries – EU, Norway, Australia and New Zealand – agreed to participate in a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The second commitment period would start from 1 January 2013 and would extend up to either 2017 or 2020 (to be decided COP 18 Qatar next year). The extent of the participation of Japan, Russia and Canada in the Kyoto Protocol phase II remains unclear. On Clean Development Mehanism (CDM) side, the modalities of the materiality concept to be implemented in the CDM have been finalized. Countries agreed to include carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology under the CDM. Guidelines on technical issues like safeguards, forest reference levels in Reducing Emissions from Forest Degradation (REDD) have been finalised, and it is now eligible for international financing. On the financial side, the $100 billion (by 2020) Green Climate Fund is now operational and its first meeting will be in Switzerland, with South Korea providing start up finance for the fund. Reporting guidelines for developing

Decision summary image reproduced with acknowledgement to Climate Connect – www. climate-connect.co.uk

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Printed with permission from www.zapiro.com For more Zapiro cartoons visit www.zapiro.com countries have been made stringent, and they need to file biennial reports. A new NAMA registry will also be established. The Parties failed to reach consensus on definitive action to address emissions from the shipping and aviation, and surplus Assigned Amount Units (AAUs). Discussions will continue in 2012. So was the huge expense worthwhile? Many would argue that it was yet another hugely overblown “gabfest”, with jargon acronyms being bandied about by politicians who don’t really understand the issues involved. And the science involved is hugely complex, way beyond the comprehension of the average person. To give voice to an “inconvenient truth”, now dawning on ever more people, climate change is part of our planet’s history – but history measured in geological rather than historical terms. Huge changes in the world’s climate occurred long before the industrial age – one of the reasons dinosaurs became extinct, and that we find evidence, for example, of huge tropical forests under the ice of the Antarctic. The issues become fogged with emotion, and sometimes that clouds reason. To suggest that by cutting carbon emissions we can “Save the Planet” is a bit like King Canute ordering the tide to stop coming in. However, impecunious governments are only too happy to jump on the climate change bandwagon and impose ever more “Green” taxes, which somehow seem to just vanish forever without trace into the general fiscus. The impact on tourism of such pointless (apart from filling government coffers) taxation is already severe. Carbon taxes on aviation are ensuring that airfares, especially on longer haul routes (and Africa is a long haul from almost everywhere) remain high and thus make tourism to this continent ever more expensive. So tourism becomes the prerogative of only the wealthy, as it seems these days, does almost everything else. I’m not saying we should not try to cut carbon emissions, save electricity or be careful about the water we use – these things are hugely important as the world’s population burgeons into almost unimaginable numbers. Anyone who remembers, as I do, the horrific coal-fuelled smogs of the middle years of the 20th century in industrial countries, knows that we don’t want, and more to the point, can’t, live with that kind of pollution. Survival of the human race is important to all of us. The alternative is just too frightening to contemplate. But fear is a huge driver of politics. Unscrupulous people with their own agendas use such fear to further their own petty ambitions, and extract money from those they can terrify into paying. We need to keep a cool head when the climate change fanatics start making emotion-laden doom-ridden speeches – especially when the outcome is that they will be asking for money!

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Tourism Trade Shows how to make the best of them

MARKETING

Tourism Tidbits suggests that those tourism communities that seek to attract trade shows consider some or all of the following: ☞ Have both a pre-show plan and a during-show plan of action. Many communities offer the trade show planners a set of show benefits, good lighting, easy access, security guards at the entrances and exits. Communities that also offer pre-show ad-ons including free nights at places of lodging, discount tickets to local attractions, and restaurant coupons have an additional advantage in attracting trade shows. ☞ Provide clear and precise information about what services your local community can provide to and for trade show hosts, guests and participants. Make sure that your community’s information appears in a font size that is easy for most people to read. In a like manner provide information regarding secondary and tertiary site locations that is clear and not cluttered. To avoid these problems create ‘Trade show check lists’ that can be reviewed with the tradeshow organisers prior to the start of the show.

Trade shows have long been seen as an important marketing tool for a large number of industries that need to exhibit their products to a specific audience, writes Dr Peter Tarlow. Since almost the beginning of time, business people have known that trade shows offer merchants the opportunity to market their goods before huge crowds in a relatively short period of time. Trade shows can also be an important tourism and economic development generator and bring thousands of dollars into the coffers of hotels, restaurants and attractions. From the tourism perspective, trade shows are more than mere platforms for marketing one’s wares. These shows are an important part of the convention and meetings industry. Tourism industry leaders are well aware of the fact that trade shows produce not only primary business (the business that takes place on the trade show floor) but also secondary business (business that is the result of servicing the trade show participants, such as hotels and restaurants) and even tertiary business (business that comes from trade show participants returning at a later time to the trade show’s host community). Many tourism leaders view trade shows as ‘conventions with a product to sell’. From the perspective of the tourism industry trade shows then provide a number of important challenges and opportunities. For example even a small or medium size trade show may attract as many as 10,000 people from out-of-town who will fill hotel rooms and eat at local establishments. For many of the reasons mentioned above tourism professionals compete to gain trade show market share. They also realize that people who come to their community for trade shows may return at a later time for additional recreation and fun. While there are great similarities between the classical convention and trade shows there are also major differences. Trade shows often need large amounts of convention hall space, and easy access for products and trade show booths. Because trade shows have multiple events occurring at the same time, the trade show floor must be designed to allow people to hear against a cacophony of sounds and permit private conversations in a public arena.

☞ Do not overestimate what you can handle. Many communities ‘bite off’ more than they can chew. Remember that the success of a trade show is determined not only by what takes place within the show, but also by what happens off the trade show floor ☞ Use your security team as a selling tool to attract tradeshows and to encourage people to consider post-trade show vacations in your community. Trade shows are places where all sorts of merchandise are available and are soft target spots for pilferage. One way to win trade shows for your community is to demonstrate to potential trade shows hosts that there is a total security plan and that the local police department has been trained in tourism security issues. ☞ Make sure that you use the fact that people are at tradeshow to promote your community. Think of give-away bags promoting local products and services, interesting posters and regular information updates on things to do before and after trade show hours. Make sure that your community is part of the local trade show rather than merely as passive location in which the tradeshow occurs. Ask yourself who is exhibiting in your community and what special needs to these exhibitors. The best way to get brilliant results in attracting trade shows is to demonstrate that you understand what the trade shows’ hosts’ needs are and that you have a plan to meet their needs. Make sure you demonstrate to the trade show host that you understand who their target audience is and the message that they are trying to get across. Take the time to ask the organizers how they will define a successful show and what part the local tourism industry can play in making sure that they meet their objectives. Remember that there are really two shows occurring at the same time. The first is the actual trade show in which merchants are exhibiting products. The second trade show is that your community is also on exhibit. To gain brilliant results use the personal touch and a sense of caring to distinguish your community from other communities that are also seeking to attract the trade show business. About the Author: Dr. Peter E. Tarlow publishes a monthly ‘Tourism Tidbits’ newsletter, is the President of T&M, a founder of the Texas chapter of TTRA and a popular author and speaker on tourism. Tarlow is a specialist in the areas of sociology of tourism, economic development, tourism safety and security. Tarlow speaks at governors' and state conferences on tourism and conducts seminars throughout the world and for numerous agencies and universities. For more information e-mail ptarlow@tourismandmore.com

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MARKETING

Consumer trends that will shape 2012 Business will roll out more red carpet to Chinese tourists, massive urbanisation will create an emerging global middle-class that spends $6.9 trillion a year, consumers will go cashless and deal hunting will finally become cool. Mandy De Waal spoke to Henry Mason of Trendwatching.com in London for an insight into 2012’s biggest consumer trends.

Times might be tough but über-luxury retailer Harrods in London is doing very nicely, thank you muchly. Harrods is the world famous Knightsbridge store that sells items such as gold-flaked truffles at £190 for a box of 15 handmade delicacies. Yes, the box itself is encrusted with Swarovski crystals, but you’re still looking at R2,500 for a box of chocolates, or close on R170 a champagne truffle. Who buys such ridiculously expensive items? Announcing its financial results earlier this year Harrods told the Financial Times that there was a growing influx of high-spending tourists which propelled the opulent retailer through the £1bn sales mark for the first time in its history this year. So, it was a smart move when Harrods installed 75 Chinese bank-card terminals in their department store so high-end oriental customers can

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transact directly with their domestic banks, making spending as easy as a card swipe. Previously bank cards from China weren’t able to be read at Harrods because they were incompatible with Western banking systems. This meant Chinese customers had to walk around with large wads of cash if they wanted to splurge at the upmarket store. Michael Ward, managing director of Harrods, told Financial Times that the installation of the Chinese bank card terminals had helped realise a 40 percent increase in sales for the store. Harrods isn’t the only business rolling out the red carpet for Chinese tourists with deep pockets, Hilton Hotels launched a service called ‘Hilton Huanying’ (Mandarin for ‘welcome’) where products and services are specially tailored for oriental guests. Check in is done in Mandarin, Chinese tea is served, rooms feature oriental TV stations and there’s congee, dim sum and fried noodles on the menu. “Businesses in the West are rolling out special services for the Chinese and other emerging markets who are travelling in bigger numbers than ever before,” says Henry Mason who heads up Trendwatching.com’s research

MARKETING

GLOBAL and analysis. Trendwatching.com says in 2012 global businesses will lavish special attention on Chinese customers and try to capture this market by offering tailored services, perks, special products and by showing these customers respect by making them feel at home. There’s good reason why the likes of Hilton and Harrods are ahead of the curve on this trend. Trendwatching.com says well-heeled Chinese residents made more than 30 million trips overseas during the first half of 2010, close on double the amount of trips made by US big-buyers for the whole of last year. But this is the tip of the iceberg as the World Tourism Organisation reports that the total number of outbound tourists from China will reach 100 million by 2020. “Trends are a manifestation or new way of servicing pre-existing consumer needs, desires, wants or values,” says Mason. “Human beings and consumers don’t change that much, but what does change is the environment, technology and social values or the context that people are in. This is what we are interested in. Looking at what changes in the way a fundamental desire manifests itself.” To explain the difference between fundamental human desires and trends Mason uses the example of social networking. “Social media and sites like Facebook didn’t invent the need for people to connect with each other and share information, which is a human value or desire. All these social media did was apply technology that unlocks this fundamental need in a new way,” he says. Mason says trends sit on top of underlying values like community, identity and authenticity. “One of the huge trends we have seen during the past few years is how the idea of social status is changing and how this is being influenced by social networks.” In the old days before Facebook plugged you into the rest of the world, people would show their social status using fancy cars, big houses or other shiny material goods.

A great example of how brands are innovating to serve this market comes from a partnership forged between organisations in India and the UK. With tablets a runaway success in richer markets, DataWind (a London wireless web device company) teamed up with the Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan to create an Android tablet called Aakash (the Hindi word for sky) that retails for lest than $60 (or just over R500). Launched in New Delhi late this year, the Aakash is subsidised for students and costs just $35 (or some R290) for pupils. Mason says to be more innovative, businesses should start looking across markets or business sectors and doing this can be a rich source of inspiration. “Many businesses become obsessed with what their competitors are doing, but don’t have time to look across markets and companies which can be a rich source of inspiration. If you’re an automotive brand there’s a lot you can learn from what fashion brands are doing” he says. A case in point is that when consumers get into a BMW and switch on the sound system, they often don’t compare this to a similar system in a Mercedes, but instead equate it to the experience they have with their iPod. “People don’t care whether the sound system is better than a Mercedes, they want to know why it isn’t as good and versatile as what Apple offers. This is crucial in the luxury market, but increasingly mass market brands are having the same experience. Consumers expect the best of the best and because this is the world that the consumer inhabits and brands must inhabit this world as well,” says Mason. Trendwatching.com’s other ‘crucial consumer trends’ for 2012? There’s ‘DIY Health’ that sees consumers reaching for apps and technology to enhance their wellbeing; ‘Dealer Chic’ which is a recession-driven trend where deal hunting becomes a bit of a status symbol; and ‘Eco-cycology’ where brands take the recycling burden off your shoulders and invite you to bring back products they recycle instead.

“What Facebook is showing us is that online status is just as important and that one can derive status from the number of YouTube hits you get, the response you get to your blog posts or what you say on Twitter. Social media enables people to display their wittiness or their intelligence, realising a shift in status because sites like Facebook have democratised these hidden values. This doesn’t mean that old status symbols like a Mercedes or BMW aren’t attractive any more, but it has seen a big shift in how status is perceived. As a result, an increasing number of luxury brands are repositioning to appeal to these new forms of status,” Mason says. Another trend that Trendwatching.com says will dominate 2012 is the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ which will see unprecedented opportunity for catering to hundreds of millions of low-income consumers. “Urbanisation is one of the huge macro-themes everyone is aware of, and we’re reporting this trend will create ‘citysumers’ who are consumers that are more liberal, cosmopolitan, urbane, hyperactive and demanding,” says Mason. The trend forecasters define ‘citysumers’ as the hundreds of millions of sophisticated urbanites who live in cities from San Francisco to Shanghai and São Paulo, who are eagerly snapping up a host of new urban goods, services and campaigns. “As soon as you leave a rural area and move to a city, you join the consumer economy in a much greater way than you did before. We’re only scratching the surface of this trend, but urbanisation and the surging throng of urbanites means there are increasing opportunities in this market sector,” says Mason. McKinsey reckons that massive urbanisation and the flocking of consumers to cities has created an emerging middle-class of some 2 billion ‘citysumers’ that spend about $6.9 trillion a year. McKinsey says this spending power will increase to $20 trillion in the next decade, which is double the current US consumer consumption.

In Africa cashless payments systems been a trend thanks to M-PESA, but the currency free environment will catch on in the US and western Europe says the trend forecasters. Expanding on Clay Shirky’s notion of cognitive surplus, Trendwatching.com says ‘Idlesourcing’ will be big in 2012. This is crowd-based problem solving where consumer contributions become increasingly effortless yet fuel endless innovations. Consumers will want brands to become more human in 2012 and to show their flaws; while smart consumers will resell purchases they don’t want or will ‘recommerce’ items. Not only is it spawning new markets, but a whole new jargon. As handheld devices flood the world, screens will be everywhere, always on and will connect consumers to just about everything. They will also enable consumers to ‘point and know’ or get quick, easy and convenient access to information. Lastly yesteryear’s easily shocked, inexperienced, middle-of-theroad consumers have now grown up thanks to exposure to open information and will now begin to appreciate brands that push boundaries. About time consumers grew up, don’t you think? Now retailers, service providers and manufacturers only have to wake up. 1/2012

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Future Ready?

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Gearing up for two decades of growth

The Travel and Tourism (T&T) sector takes great pride in its statistics. 940 million international arrivals in 2010 - a staggering increase compared to 687 million just a decade earlier. Traveller receipts of almost US$1 trillion in 2010 - a quantum leap from the sector’s US$482 billion in 2000, writes Anita Mendiratta. This represents a significant contribution to trade, investment and national competitiveness, and, critically in these challenging times worldwide, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. One in twelve jobs worldwide, to be exact. Were this the housing or dotcom sectors being examined, the cautioning word “bubble” would be part of the analysis of where the sector is going. A decade of such dramatic growth, even with economic, political, natural, and social crisis? Sounds suspect. GREAT EXPECTATIONS The T&T sector is different, however. As it has proved for the past decade, and confidently demonstrates in future projections, growth is not about hot air and hot assets. It is about hard work, aimed directly at getting travellers travelling so that nations and their nationals can get working. As analysis backwards shifts to projections forwards, the trend remains solidly upwards. Growth in traveller activity appears to be unrelenting. Tens of millions of new travellers are entering the sector each year, with certain regains certainly outpacing others. The UNWTO (UN World Tourism Organization) recently released “Tourism Towards 2030” outlook, which confidently projects the sector to see 1.8 billion international arrivals in just two decades time; sees the Asia and the Pacific region accounting for 30 percent of arrivals in 2030, up from an already fast-growth share of 22 percent in 2010. At the same time, Asia-Pacific’s share of outbound travellers continues to rise, quadrupling in regional contribution from 2010 to 2030. Their first port of call? Europe. Why? Because now they can! The future is ready for Travel and Tourism. The question, however, is: Is Travel and Tourism ready for the future? 16

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HONOURING THE INTEREST Increase in traveller numbers is inspiring. The data, with all of its upward arrows and skyward bar charts, allows sector leaders, and followers, to feel a sense of confidence in the future. Even with the array of challenges that have faced the industry as the world worked through the farthest reaching and deepest penetrating economic and emotional conflicts of our times, from natural and man-made disasters to fuel price increases, and while business readers ache at the omnipresence of the ‘R’ word, ‘recession,’ the travel and tourism sector holds on tightly to its ‘R’ word, the force of nature that helps the industry keep its chin up and eyes forward: ‘resilience.’ Still, with all of these things working for the tourism sector as the future unfolds, with its promise of continued growth, are destinations actually ready for all of the interest coming their way? Are the fundamentals of good business practice being practiced? Is tourism honouring its opportunity for growth by honouring the travellers taking the time and trouble, and making the personal investment, to visit? Opening our doors, and simply standing back to allow the growing waves of travellers to enter, is simply not enough. Not if we, as an industry, wish to serve the promise and potential of the sector for upliftment of both the traveller, and the place travelled. CASE IN POINT: CHINA China, a travel market that makes even the most sceptical of industry watchers sit up straight and listen, has made an enormous contribution to outbound travel numbers. The nation has offered an invaluable booster to industry numbers, especially over the past three years where global economies have faced both economic

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recession and emotional depression. While many western travellers found themselves grounded (even if desperately needing a holiday to get away from endless job insecurities and dept stresses), China National Tourism Administration, China’s official national tourism authority, counted outbound departures from 2010 at over 57.39 million. One nation, over 57 million outbound travellers! For China this represented year-on-year growth in outbound travel of nearly 20 percent, and over US$48 billion in overseas spend. CNTA’s predictions for 2011? 65 million outbound travellers, an increase of 33 percent. This is exceptional news for traditional destinations in Europe, especially Germany, France and the United Kingdom that saw a 23 percent increase in Chinese travellers, as well as new-interest markets to the Chinese such as USA and Canada. Even Australia and Africa benefited with over 80 percent growth in Chinese visitors. As the people of China increase in their desire, and ability, to travel, these numbers are only set to increase. Destinations across the globe are blessed with an opportunity to channel their efforts towards attracting a massive population of new travellers so anxious, excited, and able to run through their front door – seeing

And so, in this particular case, the million dollar (and million tourist) question is: are we China ready? Such basic, almost obvious questions, yet more often than not, destinations wishing to attract Chinese travellers are simply not doing enough. They are not gearing up their destination in the most obvious ways. Why? Because in our confident quest to attract all of that world of interest, we forget to humbly, honestly, and holistically experience the destination from the perspective of the traveller. And yet the importance of reaching across the great traveller divide is so obvious when one thinks about it. If you are so dearly wanting to go to visit the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, but only able to find travel websites in Chinese, are you still going to make the trip? Can you? Or is it easier to just go somewhere else? One example, a world of relevance.

INVESTING IN THE VISION For the tourism sector to have such a confident, convincing vision of the future is an immense blessing. Particularly in these times of enduring risk of economic troubles. With Tourism Towards 2030 now published as a promise for future, tourismbased opportunity and prosperity, as stated by the Secretary General of the UNWTO: “The next twenty Do we have a destination engineered to welcome, host and fully years will be of continued growth for the sector. satisfy the unique needs of these travellers? They can also be years of leadership: tourism leading Are our visa and other visitor policies aligned to take full advantage economic growth, social progress and environmental of visitor interest? sustainability.” Is it easy to access our destination, physically (both from abroad and In these times of ongoing, enduring and spiritinternally), and psychologically? challenging crisis, having a vision is synonymous with Are we speaking their language, literally and ﬁguratively, in our having hope. Visions fuel direction, determination destination communication (online, in trade, etc.?) and imagination. They do not, however, stand alone. Are we making these visitors feel at home? Is our accommodation For a destination to realise the future opportunity reﬂective of their desired comforts when to comes to beds, that the sector has created for it, it must actively washroom facilities, and the like? and assertively step out, and up, to turn vision into Are our attractions packaged and promoted to respond to their reality. This requires clear, confident steps towards interests? Can we bet on their buying in? achievement of clearly defined destination goals, Are we creating destination experiences that showcase our programmes and brand promises. communities and culture, creating greater understanding of who we And, importantly, it demands ownership of the are as a people and place – not just as a tourism product? future of the destination, by the destination. Is our destination monitoring not just the economic impact of increased numbers of tourists, but also social and environmental Article reproduced with acknowledgement to CNN impact? Task Group/eTN | Nov 04, 2011 Are we creating initiatives that create opportunities for jobs and advancement of our people, as part of the tourism sector and success story? Are we developing our industry in human capability / soft infrastructure as strongly as we are with hard/physical infrastructure? Do the people of the destination understand, appreciate, and take pride in the value of tourism to their lives and livelihoods? Is our opening of our doors to the world strengthening our identity as a nation?

for themselves a whole new world. Such temptation. Yet also such risk. Why? Because tourism is a sector for the long run, not the short sprint. The ability to cash in on short-term opportunity may, in fact, yield a higher cost to the destination than ever anticipated. We need to ensure that, as the future opportunity of tourism unfolds, we design a sector ready to carefully, consciously, credibly and consistently honour the promise of tourism. 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

MARKETING

GLOBAL

Understanding the Russian

outbound market

Alexander Boguslavsky is a Russian who lives in South Africa and publishes an online newsletter called The Spark. He gives us a pertinent insight into what Russian travellers want. There is plenty to make us think about entering this market. Outbound tourism in Russia: trends and dynamics. The trends are dynamic and the dynamics is a trend… An explosive mixture of released demand and oil-rich economy brought to life a booming tourist market in Russia. The World Tourism & Travel Council predicts that Russia is well placed to become one of the world’s Travel & Tourism powerhouses before the year 2016. The tourism industry in Russia in this decade, according to forecasts by WTTC, will be developing two times faster than that in the EU.

• • • •

Russians prefer not to spend holidays within Russia. There are many reasons for this: It is expensive and travel infrastructure and services are still well below international standards. Outbound travel is considered far better value for money. Many older people still remember times when travel abroad was not allowed, which makes foreign travel all the more appealing. The weather is cold in the majority of Russia for 8-9 months a year.

‘Sun and Beach’ as the most popular leisure. During the Soviet time, empty shops were a symbol of a collapsing economy in the collapsing state. It was not surprising that shopping was a dominant part of the explosive travel boom in the 1990’s. The vast majority of Russians travelled to neighbouring countries, such as Poland, China, and Turkey, for different kinds of goods that were not available in Russia. During 1997– 2001, Poland held the leading position on this market, followed by China, Turkey, Finland, Spain and Egypt (Rostourism). With time, the market began to saturate with local and imported goods. What was not changed was the harsh Russian winter climate. So the desire to escape to the sun was all the more common. Sun and beach holidays became the most popula,r and continue to be predominant in outbound tourism. These are popular among all segments of the population, but especially among young people and families with children. There are two types of destinations for beach holidays – the upmarket ones and the budget destinations. The former include Italy, Spain, France, Cyprus and Greece, while so-called ‘budget’ destinations include Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Croatia. These countries still constitute the core of mass tourism destinations for Russian travelers (Rosstat). Diversification of preferences. However, from approximately 006, industry professionals and analysts noted a new trend on the travel market. Outbound traffic statistics indicated that more Russians were choosing countries where they could supplement time on the beach with other activities, such as cultural, historic, ethnic tours, sporting events, shopping, and recreation. Moreover, Russians who have travelled to Asia, Europe or Egypt in the past were willing to explore destinations other than those they had already visited. While the activities may be similar, a different destination is more appealing. More tourists are presently travelling to remote exotic countries, such as Dominican Republic and Thailand. Generally, the most popular destinations of Russian tourists can be classified as follows: Beach Leisure: Egypt, Turkey; Exotics: China, Thailand, India; Culture Tourism: France, Spain, Italy; Medical Tourism: Israel, Germany.

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

1/2012

New destinations on the market. The market became extremely receptive to new emerging destinations. Russian tour operators, their foreign partners and tourist authorities were fast to capitalise on this demand. Aggressive promotional campaigns, combined with simplified visa procedures and charter flights, ensured the quick success of tourist destinations almost unknown on the Russian market only 5-7 years ago. Competitive exotic destinations include South-East Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Japan), North Africa (Tunisia), the Midde East (the United Arab Emirates), countries in or bordering the Indian Ocean (Maldives, Seychelles, India and Mauritius), South America (Brazil) and the Caribbean. The prime attractions of these destinations are sun and beaches, their exotic appeal and their easy access in terms of visas. In many cases, marketing campaigns were focusing on the promotion of specific destinations within countries (Goa in India, Bali in Indonesia). For example, Goa is presently attracting 4 percent of the entire tourist flow during winter season (IA Turprom). Furthermore, Russia became a world leader in terms of the number of tourists visiting Goa. Recently, Mexico demonstrated remarkable success in the Russian market. Only for one year, this country achieved unprecedented growth of Russian tourists from 284 trips in 2009 to 10 400 trips in 2010 (RATA-news). Once again, this success can be attributed to aggressive marketing and charter flights. Regional trends. Three regions with a high percentage of urban population are dominant on the outbound travel market, namely Central (Moscow), North Western (St Petersburg) and Ural (Yekaterinburg). Tourists from these regions prefer beach leisure in Turkey and Egypt, cultural tours to Europe and exotic countries in the Caribbean region. The Nordic countries, especially Finland and Sweden, are the most popular among tourists from St. Petersburg, mainly due to the opportunity they offer for shopping and leisure. The major part of the tourist flow to China is attributed to visitors from the Far East region of Russia. They also prefer Thailand as a destination for the beach leisure rather than more remote Turkey or Egypt. Growing demand for spa- and ‘all inclusive’ hotels. The number of Russian tourists preferring the ‘all inclusive’ system doubled over the last five years. On European routes, this number even tripled. These are outcomes of research undertaken by the Russian tour operator MEGAPOLUS for the period from September 2006 to May 2010. The ‘all inclusive’ tours in Greece amounted to 20.4 percent in 2006, while in 2010 these packages reached 54 percent. In the Caribbean region, the all inclusive system comprises almost 100 percent of tours. On-line booking becomes more popular in Russia. One of the consequences of the crisis was the growth of number of tourists who prefer travelling by themselves and not applying to travel agencies. The number of tourists who prefer not to use travel agents increased dramatically in 2010. The same tendency is noted by the on-line agencies as well. On average, the online sales of tourism have been growing by 50 percent monthly last year. The greatest demand was recorded for air tickets. The on-line booking of hotels was also increased. This trend is expected to grow taking into account the

MARKETING / GLOBAL

GLOBAL

Internet covering of the country. It amounts to 95 percent and 35 percent in Moscow and Russia, respectively. By 2012, the Internet covering is expected to reach 50 percent in Russia. For the past two years, the Internet sale in tourism increased by 20 percent. There are significant differences in tourist preferences depending on destinations. For example, tourists who travel to Turkey prefer purchasing tour packages via travel agencies. Travellers to Greece, Montenegro, Italy and Spain prefer online compiling and booking tours. The total on-line booking reached $3.5 billion in 2010. By 2013, about 83 percent of purchases will be made through websites of airline companies and hotels. According to the forecast of the Association of Tourist Online Servers (ITSA), the volume of on-line booking in Russia will reach $12 billion (or 5 percent of the global market) in 2015. The Russian market is presently highly receptive to new destinations. Coastal resorts with diverse activities have a competitive advantage and are in demand. The Eastern Cape is one of such destinations. The beach leisure is combined with unique tourist attractions, such as famous game reserves, national parks, Xhosa culture tours, Great Karoo, hunting farms etc. As a matter of fact, the province has everything what Russians are looking for in exotic countries and for any group of travellers, from mass to exclusive tourism. Using social media Russia has a thriving travel social media, including numerous online industry portals, blogs, forums etc. Dallas Lawrenc from Burson-Marsteller believes that those in Russia who are willing to get in on the ground floor of social engagement and to build social connectivity with key audiences stand to benefit mightily over the next 12 to 18 months. To be sure, tens of thousands of Western companies and brands have already established online profiles in Russia. It is therefore not by accident that the leading tour operators and travel agents are aggressively expanding their presence on the largest tourist portals to get direct access to Russian clientele. Internet: headache or benefits? Developing technologies and increasing the Internet coverage are expanding the target audience and diversifying advertising campaigns of tour operators. On the other hand, it is becoming a headache for tourism companies. In the past, tourists were buying tours from travel agencies, nowadays they prefer direct on-line booking. The number of independent travellers increased dramatically in 2010. On-line booking is becoming s more popular in Russia. For example, according to the Austrian tourist office in Moscow, almost half of Russian skiers that visited the country this winter, organised their trips independently. The greatest demand was recorded for air tickets. The on-line booking of hotels was also increased. For the past two years, the Internet sale in tourism increased by 20 percent. This trend is expected to grow, taking into account Internet penetration in Russia. However, the social media is also a powerful tool for promotional campaigns. Recent market research indicates that 70-80 percent of Russian tourists use the Internet when making a decision on their holiday trips. The most important factors are the advice of friends and information in social networks, blogs and forums on the popular tourist portals. It is essential to understand the quirks of the trade press to succeed in this market. Opportunities The banner adverts on large portals (Mail.ru, Rambler.ru and others) are becoming more and more popular. Tourist B2B- and B2C-portals are very efficient for seasonal adverts, special offers, various actions etc. Such advertising is quite expensive and more suitable for promoting brands rather than direct selling. Web-resources are often used for advertising updated tour catalogues (for example, Sun International placed a catalogue on the popular tourist portal TourDom). Taking into account diversity of Russian social networks, one should note the main promotional formats: - tourist community or group in a social network where users share their impressions about trips illustrating travel notes by pictures. It is a profitable format which does not require remuneration of journalists and copy-writers; - special corporate resources where tourist companies describe their services.

They can be complemented by blogs of well known bloggers or specialists’ special software applications, such as, for example, the one for advertising tour catalogues in the most popular network ‘vkontakte.ru’. It enables users to find a suitable tour. Making a decision on a specific destination, hotel, selection of restaurants and entertaining activities, the modern Russian tourist trusts information in various social networks since it is coming from people with an experience of leisure in a corresponding country or hotel. The most popular social networks in the Runet (Russian Internet), VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and Facebook, blog-platform Livejournal and Twitter, are most actively used by all participants of the tourism market. Each social network has its specific audience that affects the selection of platform for promotional campaigns by tourist companies. Facebook is presently the most popular network among tourist companies. It has the largest representation of tour operators and travel agents. The users of Facebook are usually people older than 30 years that means they are financially independent and potentially interested in overseas trips (HL, July, 2011). The largest Russian network VKontakte is also very popular among tourist companies. For example, the travel agency ‘1001 tours’ has 67 and 38 thousand participants in groups oriented on selling tours and tickets, respectively. The network Odnoklassniki attracts travel agents rather than tour operators. Its main audience consists of pupils, students and other people younger than 25 years and is oriented on budget products. This network is important for promotion of tourist products in remote regions since a lot of its users are not from Moscow. Tourist companies are less active on Livejournal. Their audience consists of aesthetes who appreciate an original form of presentation, literary quality and impressive pictures. Since such an approach requires quite considerable efforts and time, the activity of tourist companies on Livejournal is lower in comparison to Facebook and VKontakte. Blogs Speaking about blogs, one should note increasing interest to Tourblogger.ru, a portal for travellers. This is a platform for travel notes, pictures, discussions relating to foreign trips as well as links to web pages of agencies selling tours from companies of the group ‘TBG Tourist Brands’. This website contains about 7 000 stories on overseas trips Among participants in the tourist market, the major part of representation in social media belongs to travel agents. It is not surprising; their number is larger and they are closer to clients compared to tour operators. The most impressive example of a company which made a name by means of social networks relates to a travel agency ‘CheapTrip’. This company has a group of 50 thousand subscribers on Livejournal and 33 thousand fans on Facebook. The market participants share a common view that social networks are more suitable for brand promotion rather than for direct advertising and selling tours. It is more efficient for providing information about various countries and regions, in particular, little-known. Some companies are placing pictures from fam trips linking them with specific segments on their websites. Conclusion It is not so easy to assess effectiveness of publications in the social media. On average, a website of a tourist company obtains from 2 to 10 percent of the recourse audience. However, unlike the context and banner adverts, there is no direct connection between the number of publications and website visits; the quality of publications is playing the main role. There is also wide variation of prices for developing blogs. Social media companies are charging from €1500 to €12000 per month for this type of services.

SOURCE: Spark, e-newsletter, issue No2 Posted by Alexander Boguslavsky on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 Under: e-newsletter 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

NICHE TOURISM

GLOBAL

The Arts and Tourism

tourists to that locale, have a greater likelihood of staying in local hotel, take longer trips and shop more. CREATE A TOURISM/ARTS PARTNERSHIP TO PROMOTE BOTH TOURISM AND THE ARTS. This partnership's goals should be to seek international grants and to create a cooperative atmosphere between, the arts and tourism communities. The partnership should also seek ways in which each industry can help to solve the other's problems. ENCOURAGE LODGING ESTABLISHMENTS TO PROMOTE THE ARTS AS A WAY TO PROMOTE THEIR BUSINESS. Perhaps the number one complaint among frequent travellers is that franchised hotels all have a cookie-cutter feel and that they lack individuality. The plastic arts are a great way to give a hotel or motel lobby a special local flavour. By allowing local artists to exhibit, visitors get a sense of the community, the local artist may make a profit, and the hotel has turned itself into a unique attraction. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF LITERARY READINGS. These literary get-togethers are great ways to add nightlife and an artistic flavor to any community, no matter what its size. Ask local restaurants, coffee houses or even hotels to sponsor local poetry readings. If you have a community college or four-year college nearby involve the school's literary professors and/or students. Ask them to share some of the material that has been developed in the classroom.

An area of tourism that is often overlooked is the question of the arts and tourism, writes Dr. Peter Tarlow. One of the reasons for this consistent overlooking may be the fact that it is hard to define the term ‘the arts’. In popular parlance the term usually means what is technically called the ‘plastic arts’. That is those forms of the arts that are restricted to paintings, sculpture and other visual concepts. Of course, the term can mean much more, from musical and dance performances to theater, from architecture to poetry readings all are art forms. In fact, anywhere that we find that the embodiment of the soul in a communication with other souls we find art. As such we may also think of both athletics and religious expression as a form of art. To simplify matters, this article will restrict itself to an expanded version of what the public generally calls art. Even with this restricted definition there are still at least two forms of art in tourism: (1) the cultural side, such as the placing of statues, monuments, and/or murals or art exhibits for reasons of community beautification and (2) the commercial side in which the public views/hears some form of artistic expression in exchange for payment. Many cities have not taken advantage of either the cultural side of the arts or the commercial side. Other cities, such as New York (the world's artistic capital) have turned the arts into a major part of their tourism offering. To help you decide how you can take advantage of your local art scene, the following suggestions and ideas may be useful: KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE. Most communities have more artistic talent and offerings than they know. Even small communities have all sorts of interesting artists and many of these people are more than happy to show the world what they have accomplished. Take the time to get to know these people and let them know that you would like to promote their work. ARTISTIC TOURISM ATTRACTS PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO SPEND MONEY. Numerous studies from around the world have show that people who include the arts in their travel plans often have higher income levels than other

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

1/2012

IF YOU HAVE ART GALLERIES PROMOTE THEM, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM, THEN CREATE NEW ARTISTIC VENUES. One of the main problems with using the arts as a tourism promotional tool is that people do not know when exhibitions are taking place, where they are taking place, how to purchase tickets and what to expect. Create local guides to the arts. These can be written, digital or web-based. Each format has its advantages and drawbacks. The written brochure provides the least expensive way to promote the arts and the visitor can take one with him/ herself. However they need constant updating and use a great deal of paper. Websites have the advantage that they are easy to update, but many travellers do not travel with a laptop or electronic tablet and it is essential to market the website so that people know where to go. Two or three well located electronic billboards (often called silent radio) are the most efficient way to provide upto-the-minute information and can do so in multiple languages, but they are not cheap to purchase and must be maintained. Other methodologies to consider are: broadcast faxes where a cultural calendar is sent to anyone in the tourism industry on a monthly basis. SEEK GRANTS! Do not be afraid to seek grants to help in developing artistic tourism. In the USA and many other nations there are any number of funding sources that can improve not only your locale's economic viability but also its quality of life. DO NOT TRY TO DO EVERYTHING ON YOUR OWN. For example, contact such people as the Global Mural Arts & Cultural Tourism Association. This association promotes economic development through the Arts and Culture within our Communities by supporting the creation of partnerships between cities, artists, local business and commerce, economic development authorities and tourism organizations. Their web address is: http://www.globalartsandtourism.net/global/index.html. About the Author: Dr. Peter E. Tarlow publishes a monthly ‘Tourism Tidbits’ newsletter, is the President of T&M, a founder of the Texas chapter of TTRA and a popular author and speaker on tourism. Tarlow is a specialist in the areas of the sociology of tourism, economic development, tourism safety and security. Tarlow speaks at governors' and state conferences on tourism and conducts seminars throughout the world and for numerous agencies and universities. For more information e-mail: ptarlow@tourismandmore.com

GLOBAL

TECHNOLOGY

gadgets gizmo’s

Starting with this edition, the Tattler will be featuring a selection of gadgets, gizmo’s and the latest in technology advancement from across the globe. If you come across any interesting items while surfing the web, do let us know - editor@tourismtattler.co.za. This editions’ selection has been sourced with acknowledgement to http://www.instash.com/ Phantom v1610 | High-Speed Camera

The Phantom is the go-to camera for insanely fast recording. Wielding a widescreen CMOS sensor and producing 1280 x 800 stills, the Phantom can shoot video at up to 1,000,0000 fps (frames per sec). Wait, what?! That’s right, but there’s a catch: at one million fps, that’s seriously pushing the envelope, so the resulting shots won’t be 1280 x 800. However, turn it down a notch to 16k fps and it’ll record in 720p (1280 x 800) and all her glory. Price: $100,000

Custom Golf Carts | By Pennwick

Pennwick’s custom-built luxury golf carts come in five different kinds of cool. If you’re into sleek and Italian, there’s the F5 sports car model. If you lean towards classic cars, there’s the Smoothster, based on late 30’s roadsters. There’s even one based on a 1950’s pickup truck. Each has a heavy-duty fiberglass body and maxes out around 20mph. And true to the word “custom”, there’s a bevy of options, like 6-passenger upgrades, leather seats, stereo system, and golf bag holder. A golf bag holder on a golf cart? What will they think of next? Price: $15,500

Bosch IXO Vino

Bosch has taken its line of electric screwdrivers to the next level by developing a corkscrew attachment. It has all the capabilities as before, able to tackle even the most complicated Ikea construction, but it now has the ability to uncork a wine bottle.

Plus, it comes equipped with an LED light to ensure that you will be able to see, even in the darkest of areas. A bottle of wine has never been treated so well. / Price: $65

Travel Door Alarm | By Belle Hop

Desktop Jellyfish Tank

With the Desktop Jellyfish Tank,the problems that come with keeping your jellyfish in a normal aquarium have been solved. See, jellyfish cannot inhabit the standard tank because filtration systems remove the fish part from their name and leave them liquefied jelly. The Desktop Jellyfish Tank now makes it possible for you to have your own pet jellyfish, and that’s a good thing because they truly are beautiful creatures. Price: $350

Staying in hotels can be dangerous with various people entering your room at all hours of the day to clean it, fluff your pillows and do weird things to your toothbrush. If you’re worried about intruders when you’re not there (or while you’re asleep), check out the Travel Door Alarm from Belle Hop. Armed with a 91dB alarm, the Travel Door Alarm hangs around your room’s door handle and has a little sliver that slides between the door and the frame. When someone opens the door and breaks the connection, the alarm goes off, scaring the intruder away and alerting anyone nearby. / Price: $12

Canon Camera Lens Mugs

A lot of people really need their cup of coffee in the morning before they can focus. Now there’s a way to express that idea literally. These mugs look exactly like Canon SLR lenses. One looks like a 24mm-105mm zoom, complete with lens cap lid and auto focus switch. The other is a travel mug that closely resembles a 70-200mm white lens, but with a liquid tight lid and a rubber grip bottom. Both have a heat-preserving stainless steel lining and absolutely no precision-made photographic glass, so neither one is actually useful for taking pictures. But then again, real camera lenses aren’t actually useful for drinking coffee, so which are the real winners here? Price: $25 -$30 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

ENVIRONMENT

AFRICA

Climate change could increase water conflicts Climate change could significantly alter water flows in major river basins in Africa, presenting a new barrier to nascent efforts to manage better water destined for food production and to resolve potential cross-border water conflicts all over southern Africa, according to research findings presented at the Third International Forum on Water and Food in Tshwane, South Africa, writes Michelle Geis. As part of a five-year global research project, scientists from the CGIAR’s Challenge Programme on Water and Food (CPWF) examined the potential effect from now through 2050 of higher temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns, caused by climate change, on river basins around the world. In the process, they say, some unsettling scenarios have emerged for parts of Africa. “Climate change introduces a new element of uncertainty precisely when governments and donors are starting to have more open discussions about sharing water resources and to consider long-term investments in boosting food production,” said Alain Vidal, director of the CPWF. “To prevent this uncertainty from undermining key agreements and commitments, researchers must build a reliable basis for decisions, which takes into account the variable impacts of climate change on river basins.” LIMPOPO BASIN Particularly alarming are the projected changes in southern Africa’s Limpopo Basin, which is home to 14 million people and includes parts of Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Using data averages from climate models by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, CPWF experts found that rising temperatures and declining rainfall in the Limpopo over the next few decades could deliver a one-two punch to the already marginal environment — depressing food production and intensifying poverty. “We need to ask whether current agriculture development strategies in the Limpopo Basin, which are predicated on current levels of water availability, are in fact realistic for a climate future that may present new challenges and different opportunities,” said Dr. Simon Cook, a scientist with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and head of CPWF’s Basin Focal Projects (BFP). “In some parts of the Limpopo Basin even widespread adoption of innovations like drip irrigation may not be enough to overcome the negative effects of climate change on water availability,” Cook added. “But in other parts, investments in rain-fed agriculture such as rainwater harvesting, zai pits and small reservoirs might be better placed, as there could be sufficient rainfall for innovative strategies to boost production. The key is to obtain the data needed to make an informed decision.” NILE BASIN Climate change could also introduce uncertainties into the water politics of the Nile Basin, with the CPWF analysis showing that higher temperatures – a rise by 2050 of two to five degrees Celsius – have the potential to increase water evaporation to the point that it would “reduce the water balance of the upper Blue Nile Basin.” Today, Egypt and Ethiopia appear to be making meaningful progress after years of tension over Ethiopia’s plans to build dams upstream that would disrupt Egypt’s water supplies. Recently, the Egyptian government has also indicated a willingness to consider a comprehensive treaty for governing water resources on the Nile River Basin that would involve a pact among several other countries in the region. “The new insights regarding the effect of climate change on river basins may indicate a need to revisit assumptions about water availability,” said Vidal. “But if we invest in the research needed to support far-sighted water policy, then decision makers can obtain the information they need to address the new wrinkles introduced by climate change that could otherwise impede agreements and investments.” BOLTA BASIN In addition to the implications for the Nile and Limpopo, Cook said data also indicate climate change could affect water availability in Africa’s Volta River Basin. And as with the other basins, these shifts would need to be factored

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

1/2012

into an agriculture revitalisation strategy for the region. Overall, the analysis of the effect of climate change on water availability found higher temperatures are likely in all of the ten river basins studied globally, which include large areas in Asia and South America. But while the higher temperatures could increase evaporation, most water losses are likely to be offset by increases in annual rainfall, as the energized climate system turbo-charges the amount of water in the atmosphere. But according to CPWF, the impacts of climate change on water availability will vary in magnitude and direction within and between basins, and could flip-flop weather patterns from wet to dry that were once more or less stable. Even where more rain falls on an annual basis, minor shifts in its timing may present challenges in basins that have been ‘organised’ over centuries to manage somewhat consistent patterns of seasonality. ADAPTING TO CHANGE “Such changes will create a management nightmare and require a much greater focus on adaptive approaches and long-term climate projections than historically have been necessary,” said Vidal. In Africa, rainwater management is widely viewed as the key to improving both crop and livestock farming. Innovative ways to make productive use of rainwater are also being touted as a new “climate smart” approach to agriculture. For example, small reservoirs can be used to store water in dry periods or to help control flooding. Flood mitigation and management strategies will be crucial in areas with increasingly erratic climate and flash floods, such as the Limpopo and the Volta. “These decentralized approaches to farming with rainwater are inexpensive, highly adaptable and provide immediate options for farmers to be their own water managers,” said Dr. Lindiwe Sibanda, CEO of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN). “The climate in Africa’s river basins is already highly variable. Enhancing farmers’ adaptive capacity to respond to current challenges is smart even without climate change, but it is an absolute imperative now that we see what the future can hold.” Today, agriculture uses up to 70 percent of the world’s freshwater resources. The CPWF research highlights the increasingly important role of effective water management to allocate and utilize available water resources to ensure food production stays abreast of population growth, even in times of climate uncertainty. Many experts are arguing that the strong link between climate change and food security should give agriculture greater standing in global climate talks. “But water for food and agriculture and the impact of climate change on global food security is barely a blip on the radar for the negotiators meeting in Durban later this month( November 2011),” added Sibanda. “Yet the first step towards climate security is ensuring farmers and the world’s poor will be able to feed themselves under rapid environmental change that puts the local and global food system at risk.” The CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) aims to increase the resilience of social and ecological systems through better water management for food production (crops, fisheries and livestock). The CPWF does this through an innovative research and development approach that brings together a broad range of scientists, development specialists, policymakers and communities to address the challenges of food security, poverty and water scarcity. The CPWF is currently working in six river basins globally: Andes, Ganges, Limpopo, Mekong, Nile and Volta (www.waterandfood. org). Published with acknowledgement to Burness Communications – www. burnesscommunications.com

AFRICA

MARKETING

Four African countries in worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 25 fastest growing economies Continued industrialisation, urbanisation, strong population growth and the emergence of a substantial middle class will encourage continued growth in rapid growth markets over the next decade, according to a new quarterly economic forecast by financial services group Ernst & Young, writes Evan Pickworth. Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and South Africa (SA) make the list from Africa, while China, Kazakhstan, India, Vietnam and Qatar complete the top nine.

He said the fact that four African countries appeared in the survey was "a sign of the increased attractiveness of African markets".

SA and Egypt, both included among the four African countries in the 25 rapid growth markets, are likely to be the most affected in Africa by the global crisis due to their integration with the global economy.

"We need to be benchmarking African markets against other rapid growth markets and then go head-to-head with those markets to attract capital," said Lalor.

Qatar, with annualised growth of 13 percent in 2000-2010, stands out from the crowd over the longer term, but Ghana is the fastest growing economy in the world in the past year at a rate of 13.6 percent.

The rapid growth markets are expected to grow collectively by 6.2 percent this year, almost four times more than the anemic growth expected in the eurozone.

Michael Lalor, Ernst & Young Africa Business Centre Leader, says rapid growth markets are set to grow by 6.2 percent this year and by 5.9 percent in 2012 compared with 1.6 percent for the eurozone in 2010 falling to 1.1 percent in 2011. The quarterly survey includes a forecast of the 25 rapid growth markets, which are becoming increasingly important in terms of both their overall weight in the world economy and their global influence.

The rapid growth markets have grown on average by 5.8 percent per year over the last decade, more than three times as fast as the advanced economies combined, and this rapid pace of expansion is set to continue with growth outpacing the advanced economies by more than 3.5 percent per annum over the next decade.

"Many of the economies are fairly advanced in their own right," he said during a briefing on Monday.

"This is presuming they deal with inflationary pressures and have sufficient infrastructure in place to secure long term growth," says the report. Article reproduced with acknowledgement to: iafrica.com / I-Net Bridge

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

1/2012

AFRICA

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM & CONSERVATION

Evaluating an African wildlife property and its assets is key to sustainability As any conservation property owner in Africa knows, the red-tape and compliance requirements involved in converting a farm into a commercially viable game farm or game reserve can be a nightmare to navigate through, writes Julian Freimond.

Image courtesy of Brian Courtenay

The development of a new game farm requires numerous documented studies, including an environmental impact study, detailed development plans, an assessment of the landâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wildlife carrying capacity, an analysis of ecotourism versus farming options, capital expense forecasts, potential income forecasts and an assessment of the costs involved in setting up and running an establishment of this nature. This includes research into fencing requirements, land management, government regulations, and the viability of the land and vegetation for various animal species. Furthermore the herd health, fire and other threats to game, along with detailed security plans and implementation all need to be assessed and documented.

Securing the services of a competent and experienced conservation consultant to assist in this process will alleviate the inevitable frustration of trying to do it all yourself, while also ensuring that the venture will be sustainable in the longterm. From a risk transfer point of view, insurers welcome feedback from conservation experts as this valuable information is used to determine the severity of a risk, as well as reduction in premium in cases where good game management and the general well-being of the animals to be insured are concerned. Peace of mind

from a well-conducted assessment for an insurer can mean the difference between affordable and unaffordable premiums and in some cases even the viability of taking on the risk at all. Wildlife mortality insurance is highly specialised and is not widely available. Exorbitant game auction prices, which have been driven up by various market factors during the 2011 game auction season, are the reason that more and more business-minded game farmers and breeders are finding it necessary to insure their expensive, and in some cases, rare assets.

For more information visit www.tncs.co.za or contact Greg Seymour on +27 (0)82 3309852 or e-mail info@tncs.co.za. For wildlife insurance advice contact Julian Freimond on +27 (0)83 3257974 or e-mail: jfreimond@satib.co.za 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

AFRICA

TRADE NEWS

Shishangeni Lodge, Camp Shawu and Camp Shonga joins Signature Life Hotels Shishangeni Private Lodge is situated on 15,000 hectares of a private concession at the Kruger National Park. Shishangeni comprises three camps, Shishangeni Private Lodge, Camp Shonga and Camp Shawu. Says CEO Alan Vels of Signature Life Hospitality ” we have taken over the Management Sales and Marketing for the owner, and we look forward to creating our Signature Safari experience for these lodges. We believe that a true Safari experience is offering many activities to choose from apart from the traditional game drive. We want our guests to fall in love with the true bush experience around which our lodges are created”. Shishangeni Lodge has 22 individual chalets for 44 guests, all are luxuriously appointed with a private game-viewing deck, fireplace, outdoor shower and relaxation area. Inter-leading rooms are available for families. A state of the art conference area for 44 guests offers an exceptional choice for business groups for team strategy and team building sessions. Nearby, Camp Shawu is uniquely designed and built with authentic buffalo dung walls, and all lodgings have private wooden decks overlooking the Mpanamana Dam. Comfortably hosting 10 guests in 5 luxury suites, all have a classic ball and claw bath, open lounge, a fireplace, ceiling fans and outside “star-sky” shower. Camp Shonga is a small gem of a bush retreat in the foothills of the Lebombo Mountains. Shonga boasts views of the mountains and sprawling bushveld, effortlessly combining quiet personalised service with style, comfort and luxury in the bush, so all have the best possible experience of Africa. Sun International Acquires Landmark Property In Sandton R250-m upgrade to commence in January 2012 Sun International, Southern Africa’s leading leisure and gambling group, announced that the company had entered into a 20-year lease agreement with the Cavaleros Group for the lease of the Grayston Hotel, a landmark Sandton property. The two companies will contribute equally to a R250million refurbishment of the property. “This deal will secure Sun International’s position in South Africa’s premier business node, and will complement the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town, our other major urban hotel,” says Acting Chief Executive Garth Collins. “It is a prime location given its close proximity to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, The Sandton Convention Centre, the commercial and retail district and the Gautrain. “We are not presently represented in Sandton and this venture offers the group relatively short term access to this key market. “Importantly, the hotel will act as a valuable stop-over point for our inbound visitors who arrive from abroad en route to our properties around the country, especially Sun City, Cape Town and Livingstone. The Grayston is ideally suited to this purpose and provides a good added facility for our foreign guests. “The hotel is currently in need of a revamp and to this end we will undertake a major refurbishment of its 346-rooms and public areas. The hotel will close at the end of November when the current lease expires and the refurbishment will commence in January 2012 with the aim of launching the new hotel as a four star plus under the Sun International brand early in 2013.” Hippo Hollow Hotel recognised as one of the best hotels in Africa by Virgin Holidays Hippo Hollow Hotel Country Estate, situated in Hazyview, Mpumalanga recently received a bronze award for ‘The Best Hotel in Africa’ during the annual Virgin Holidays World Travel Market (WTM) Awards Ceremony held in London.

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The winners were determined by clients of Virgin Holidays based on the average score received when asked to rate their experience of their stay at the hotel. This is the third year in a row that Hippo Hollow has received this prestigious acknowledgement from Virgin Holidays, competing against countless competitors in Africa. Nestled amongst lush indigenous gardens on the banks of the Sabie River, only ten minutes drive from the Kruger National Park. Hippo Hollow’s ‘Out of Africa’ feel leaves you feeling totally relaxed and refreshed and invites guests to indulge in the timelessness of Africa. Hippo Hollow Hotel is marketed by Seasons in Africa, a South African based tourism company. In addition to Hippo Hollow, Seasons In Africa’s portfolio of offerings includes three luxury game lodges, five boutique hotels and four unique adventures in Southern Africa. Combination packages are the leading tourism marketing and management company’s point of difference, with guests able to combine stays at various Seasons In Africa properties and adventures. Further details can be found at www.seasonsinafrica.com. For more information contact Hippo Hollow Hotel, Tel +27(013) 737 7752, e-mail: reservations@hippohollow.co.za or visit www.hippohollow. co.za Dates Announced For The 2012 Hotel Investment Conference Africa The sixth annual Hotel Investment Conference Africa (HICA) 2012 will be hosted at the Southern Sun Elangeni hotel, in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, on 10 and 11 May. Convened by the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), in partnership with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism KZN (DEDT KZN), Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) and Trade and Investment KZN (TIKZN), HICA is an established business networking platform for investors, developers, owners and operators within the African hotel sector. The conference attracts financiers, entrepreneurs, intermediaries such as architectures, transactional advisors and lawyers, and government leaders and officials. HICA 2012 will provide a platform for all parties involved in the sector, to come together to discuss – amongst others – solutions to the ongoing strife experienced by many operators and developers in sub-Saharan Africa. The list of moderators and panel members will feature some of the most experienced business leaders in the industry. HICA 2012 is an event not to be missed. It is the conference that will put into perspective the current challenges within the sector, both within South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and the World. It is also the conference to attend to gain further knowledge about the opportunities in the sector for entrepreneurs and investors: and for public officials and policy makers to better support the sector. For further information please phone TBCSA offices on 012 654 7525 or visit www. hica.co.za

AFRICA

TRADE NEWS

Appointment Of Mr Thulani Nzima As Chief Executive Officer Of South African Tourism On 27 October 2011, the Minister of Tourism, Mr Marthinus van Schalkwyk, announced the appointment of Mr Thulani Nzima as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of South African Tourism (SAT). Minister Van Schalkwyk expressed his delight with the appointment of the new CEO: “I am very pleased with Mr Thulani Nzima’s appointment. He not only has a wealth of knowledge and experience of the tourism industry, but his management skills will certainly steer SAT to greater heights. The tourism industry globally has faced many challenges. Therefore, we need capable and strategic leaders who will not only create opportunities for tourism growth, but will take advantage of new opportunities that lie ahead. I am confident that he will lead with integrity and courage.” Nzima previously held the position of Director: Sales and Marketing at car rental company Avis. From 1991 to 2007, he held the positions of Senior Executive Manager at South African Airways, as well as Chief Executive Officer at the South African Travel Centre. The considerable experience he has gained in the business world, and more particularly the tourism sphere, has equipped him with excellent interpersonal and communication skills, a strong vision and vast industry knowledge, which will all stand him in good stead. The Minister also expressed his gratitude to Mr Tim Scholtz, SAT Chief Operating Officer, who acted as CEO pending the appointment of the new incumbent. Mr Thulani Nzima’s term of office will be for three years, with effect from his date of appointment. New General Manager appointed to Table Bay Hotel Sherwin Banda has recently been appointed as the General Manager of Sun International’s prestigious Cape Town V&A Waterfront property, The Table Bay Hotel. “I want to enhance our service levels in a personal and meaningful way by going back to our roots. The Table Bay will provide a unique South African experience yet offered in a way that meets our international guest’s expectations.” Says Banda. Banda was born and raised in Cape Town where he studied law at The University of Western Cape and Public Relations at the Academy of Learning Institute. He has spent nearly 15 years in the international hospitality industry working in South Africa, United Kingdom, and until now, Southern California. He is the consummate hotelier, exuding warmth, polish and impeccable style. “The thing I love most about being home is the unique style of service. The real essence of the people shines through. Each individual embodies what is so unique about South Africa and I want to develop on this. I will invest in each employee, giving them the tools to be successful which in turn will enhance the guest experience in a meaningful way.” His management philosophy of highly personalised service and standards make him the perfect match for Sun International. “As hoteliers we get to

play an active role in creating memories – it is easy to do something special for someone, to treat a guest as though they are family – in this way The Table Bay will be remembered and we start to create a history with someone.” Mandela Rhodes Place as fit as a fiddle, problems faced by property company Claims that Mandela Rhodes Place in Cape Town’s CBD is in severe financial distress are based on misinterpretation of the facts, say business owners and the management of the Hotel and Spa. “Mandela Rhodes Place is a set of five buildings which form an entity, a sectional title development, that is not owned by one person or company in particular,” explained Desmond O’Connor, General Manager at the Mandela Rhodes Hotel and Spa. “It is owned by a collective of owners of the 180 apartments, as well as the proprietors of the various retail and commercial ventures. This means it can’t possibly be in financial trouble as has been inaccurately reported recently in the media” he continued. O‘Connor referred to ongoing negative media reports that have suggested that Mandela Rhodes Place had accumulated losses to the tune of millions and millions of rand over the past few years. These were not trading losses but fair value accounting provisions in the accounts of one owner at MRP. In fact, the centre has traded extremely well with consistent strong growth year on year and continues to do so. These problems are faced by West City who own a number of apartments and the retail and office space that is leased to the individual business owners, O’Connor noted. Last month, the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation, which is itself being wound up, filed court papers to liquidate West City Precinct Properties. This action has been strongly opposed by the company who has in turn applied for a business rescue plan. “As for us at the Hotel, we are doing really well,” O’Connor said. If we remove the inflated World Cup revenue from last year’s figures, we are ahead of target and have had consistent year on year growth since we commenced operations. It is a reality that the South African tourism industry is having a difficult time, having said that in the winter months we traded at 70 percent occupancy, which was abnormally high. In September, our occupancy rate was 73 percent. Looking at these figures it is clear that Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel and Spa is one of the better performing properties in Cape Town. Our feedback from guests and residents is that they feel safe in the city centre and love the buzz, which is reflected in the extraordinary growth of the Thursday Earth Food Fair market outside on St Georges Mall. Feeling a little dizzy today? Tattler subscriber Richard Cunning dabbled in astronomy in the late 1990’s (He had his own club) and shares this bit of fascinating trivia with readers. The earth spins at 1600 km/hr at the equator. While it’s spinning, it is travelling a distance of 970 million km’s around the sun at a speed of 107 000 km/hr for 365 days to cover one loop. And, while the earth is looping the sun, the sun is travelling in a spiralling galaxy at 792 000 km/hr to complete one revolution every 225 million years. To finally add to all this dizzy spinning, our galaxy is travelling at 2.1 million km/hr in the direction of the constellations of Leo and Virgo which we will never catch up to because they are also travelling at dizzying speeds away from us. So, if you're feeling a little dizzy today, don't reach out for your paracetamol, rather thank the Universe you’re not spinning around Uranus! 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

TRADE NEWS

AFRICA

Cape Town’s World Design Capital 2014 award a huge tourism boost Cape Town’s status as World Design Capital 2014 is a major boost for South Africa’s credentials as a major international lifestyle destination and a big boost for the country’s tourism industry. This was the excited response from South African Tourism’s Chief Marketing Officer Roshene Singh to the announcement in Taipei that Cape Town had beaten the other shortlisted finalists, Dublin (Ireland) and Bilbao (Spain), to the title of World Design Capital 2014 at the International Design Alliance (IDA) Congress. The prestigious World Design Capital award is made every other year by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) to a city that is dedicated to using design for social, cultural and economic development. The Mother City is the first African city to be given the honour, joining former World Design Capitals Torino, Italy (2008), Seoul, South Korea (2010) and Helsinki, Finland (2012). These ‘capitals’ have seen increased visitor numbers following their awarding of the title, with Torino reporting higher visitor numbers in their title year than in the year the city hosted the Winter Olympics in 2006. The World Design Capital title is awarded well in advance, allowing winning cities sufficient time to plan, develop and promote a year-long programme of World Design Capital-themed events for their designated year and also the opportunity of two years of pre-publicity to showcase its design and creativity. Cape Town officials are looking to use the title to celebrate the role design has played in taking a previously divided city and transforming it into a more integrated one and to address the issues of growing urbanisation. Cape Town’s first and only Diamond Museum opens its doors The Cape Town Diamond Museum opened its doors to the public in October. Located in the newly upgraded Clock Tower precinct at the Waterfront it is the only museum of its kind in Cape Town and the first to pay homage to the extraordinary story of the South African diamond industry. The Cape Town Diamond Museum is the latest in Cape Town’s list of must-see attractions and is conveniently located at the gateway to the world-famous Robben Island. The museum features a number of authentic artefacts that tell the amazing story of diamonds, and in particular the story of South Africa’s diamond trade. The entire experience was designed to ensure that visitors feel the excitement and mystery surrounding these beautiful gems and learn more about one of South Africa’s greatest exports. The Cape Town Diamond Museum is open 7 days a week, from 9am to 9pm. For more information visit www.capetowndiamondmuseum.org or call 021 421 2488 for bookings. Cultivaria Nominated As Tourism Entity Of The Year The Cultivaria festival, hosted in Paarl for the sixth year running during October, recently received a certificate of acknowledgement as one of the top Tourism Entities of the Year at the recent 2011 Cape Winelands District Municipality Mayoral Tourism Awards. Since its inception in 2006, the festival has been responsible for making a significant economic impact on the Drakenstein region. The brainchild of Paarl businessman and entrepreneur Gerhard Meyer, Cultivaria has become instrumental in establishing Paarl as a premier tourism destination as it highlights the area’s capacity and infrastructure to host events of world-class quality. The festival is the only of its kind in the country that is underwritten and supported by its local government and remains the only festival in South Africa to have its own e-ticketing website. Cultivaria is also the only festival to show year-on-year growth both in attendance figures and ticket sales with

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the average occupancy across all productions at 79 percent in comparison to the 45 percent average attendance at other similar festivals. Cultivaria plays a crucial role not only in tourism destination marketing of the Drakenstein region, but also delivers significant job creation opportunities. The call centre is staffed by previously unemployed individuals from the Drakenstein community, most of whom enter permanent employment after the festival due to their improved skills levels. To date the festival has created eighty permanent jobs. For more information visit www.cultivaria.com or call 021-8729754.

Cultivaria festival director, Gerhard Meyer shows off the Top Tourism Entity of the Year award recently received at the 2011 Cape Winelands District Municipality Mayoral Tourism Awards. Hotel Formula 1 continues innovating with the launch of the cocoon design at Hotel Formula 1 Nelspruit Well-known for its best price hotels that are conveniently located close to airports and business centres around South Africa, Hotel Formula 1 continues setting industry benchmarks with the introduction of its sixth ‘cocoon’ concept room. In October, the Hotel Formula 1 Nelspruit unveiled this fresh new design which received the ‘Best Interior Design’ award at the 2008 European Hotel Design Awards and was awarded the ‘Business Janus’ label. This comes at a time when a talk of a double dip recession is rife and business travel is affecting companies’ budgets severely. For this reason business travellers need to make the right choice and ‘Be smart, Stay smart’. Companies need to be far more discerning with a focus on what the essential needs of business travellers are. Hotel Formula 1 strongly believes in adding value to its guests’ experience without compromising the best value for money, therefore, the Group has made the strategic decision to invest in upgrading its hotels as well as develop, innovate and prepare to provide its guests with the best service and product. The softer, gentler design does not only mark a change in its appearance but also caters for an emerging female traveller market. Owned by Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator in Europe, is present in 90 countries with 4,200 hotels and more than 500,000 rooms. Accor’s broad portfolio of hotel brands – Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, ibis, all seasons/ibis styles, Etap Hotel/ibis budget, hotelF1 and Motel 6 – provide an extensive offer from luxury to budget. With 145,000 employees worldwide, the Group offers to its clients and partners nearly 45 years of know-how and expertise. For more information visit www.hotelformula1.co.za or for reservations call 0861-Formula1 Prince’s Grant Coastal Golf Estate Wins Prestigious African Property Award Leading developers from across the length and breadth of Africa were notified of their nomination in the region’s most prestigious property competition in

AFRICA

TRADE NEWS

association with Google and Bloomberg Television. The gala awards presentation and Property Awards Business Summit took place on November 16th and 17th at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai and Prince’s Grant Coastal Golf Estate won a 5 star award for Best Golf Development in South Africa. Prince’s Grant also won the regional award for Best Golf Development in Africa.The event is part of the International Property Awards, which is now in its 17th year.

Hotel chains looking to Africa for growth Some global hotel chains are ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in Africa to meet expected growing demand from international tourists and the continent’s own fast-growing middle class, according to Reuters. Africa was the only region in the world to show growth in tourism in 2009, according to the World Tourism Organisation.

Having won the regional award Prince’s Grant will compete against other winning companies from Asia Pacific, Arabia, the Americas and Europe to determine the ultimate World’s Best in each category.

Last year, international arrivals rose by 6 percent to 49 million, slower than Asia or the Americas but double the growth rate for Europe.

For more Information contact Mike McNamara Tel: 082 9245774. E-mail: mikem@pghoa.co.za Mind The Gap seminars - 8/22 February 2012 SATIB Insurance Brokers will be hosting two afternoon ‘Mind The Gap –Understanding Risk’ seminars in February 2012. The Johannesburg seminar will be convened at the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice in Melrose Arch on 08 February and the Cape Town seminar will take place at the One & Only Hotel on 22 February – both events will commence at 15h30. The seminars will include presentations and networking with industry experts on the prevention, management and recovery of situations that could seriously affect or destroy your business. A business card lucky draw will be held and drinks and snacks will be served. For reservations to attend either of these free seminars e-mail lcroukamp@ satib.co.za or telephone Lesley Croukamp on 0861 SATIB4U (0861 728 4248) Grand Safari Company leaves behind lasting legacy Hayward’s Grand Safari Events and Expeditions is a name that is synonymous with eco-friendly elite big group safari camps. Preserving Africa’s heritage and exposing South Africa’s future leaders in commerce and industry to the exotic beauty of their own back yard is the driving force of the company. Uniquely, this luxury tented mobile hotel offers leading South African and international companies an opportunity to focus their next big incentive travel trip or product launch into the undiscovered heart of rural South Africa. The man behind the name is Peter Hayward a fifth generation South African who has managed to successfully blend safari event management and tourism with sustainable village revitalisation. Hayward has come a long way from his humble beginnings. In 1979 whilst still gold mining with Anglo American, he started out with only a few small ten-man guest camps for friends and clients participating over weekends in hunting and fishing excursions. By 1993 he launched the world’s first (proudly South African) grand tented mobile hotel – accommodating up to 200 guests in Big 5 game reserves. Today Hayward’s is the only five-star rated mobile tented-hotel camp on the continent. “One can’t really get more exotic and adventurous than a grand mobile tented safari,” says Hayward. “We are totally committed to acting as a bridge for communities to come together and celebrate each other’s unique but equally important role in the future viability of South Africa“. Published with acknowledgement to Red Carpet Concepts – www. redcarpetconcepts.co.za Peter and team presenting teacher training materials to Principal of Tsiendula Primary School Venda

“Industry executives say that as consumer spending stalls in developed markets, more multinationals are betting Africa’s growth will eventually translate into meaningful revenue – if they can negotiate the considerable regulatory and infrastructure challenges of doing business there,” Reuters says. Chains looking to capitalize on the growing urbanisation of the area include: InterContinental Hotel Group, Accor, Starwood and Rezidor Hotel Group, the group that operates the Radisson Blu chain. “In the last 48 months we’ve added 33 hotels – some already opened and others under development – to the African continent,” Andrew McLachlan, Rezidor’s vice-president for business development Africa and Indian Ocean islands, told Reuters in an interview. “If we don’t have any curve balls, we should open another eight hotels in 12 months across five countries,” he added.”When looking for growth it’s only natural to look at Africa, (which is) not as badly affected by a slowdown. There is potential for higher growth for hotels here than in traditional markets,” said Martin Jansen van Vuuren, a director at consultancy Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions. SOURCE: Travel Mole UK SATSA member Wins Coveted Tourism Award Local businessman, Shaheed Ebrahim walked away with the coveted title of the Western Cape winner of the Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year. The provincial winners were announced at a gala dinner on 26 September, which was the eve of Tourism Day, which was celebrated on Tuesday 27 September. The finalists represent the cream of South Africa’s small and medium tourism businesses. Ebrahim is the founder and owner of Escape to the Cape (SATSA Member 1868), a destination management service that offers shuttling services, guided tours, accommodation arrangements and business services to the public. Ebrahim entered the tourism sector with no experience or expertise in this sector whatsoever. After successfully completing his tour guiding course he quickly realised that being a qualified tour guide was not enough to secure business. Other tour guides had told him not to bother with government and similar institutions who offer assistance, as it was perceived to be a waste of time. Many advised him to seek employment. Fortunately having been in the corporate sector for many years, he realised that he should leverage whatever assistance he could get to grow his business and to learn. With this in mind he joined the Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP) and has never looked back. “With the guidance and assistance of TEP I have managed to structure my business and focus on key areas,” says Ebrahim. He was incorporated into a TEP mentorship programme and his relationship with his mentor was the key to his survival in the early months. “The support, advice and encouragement offered by TEP and my mentor ensured that I did not throw in the towel,” says Ebrahim. TEP partly sponsored his trip to the World Travel Market in London in November 2010. Furthermore he attended several TEP workshops., which afforded him an opportunity to secure business. 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

BOTSWANA

INVESTMENT

Private lodge developments in Botswanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kalahari The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, which borders South Africa and Botswana, includes the largest expanse of continuous sand mass in the world. The park covers more than 37,000 square kilometres and is one of the few ecosystems in southern Africa to include such a large variety of wildlife, including sixty species of mammals, its is also home to the Kalahari lions, which have specifically adapted to the desert through having lighter fur than their counterparts. The park consists of the former Gemsbok National Park in Botswana and the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa. In 1999 the two countries agreed to manage the two parks as a single ecological unit. Opportunities to establish private sector lodges within the Botswana boundary of the Kgalagadi TFCA have cropped up, three of which are listed below: Rooiputs Lodge Investment opportunity: This concession has been awarded by the Government of Botswana to Ta Shebube (Pty) Ltd. Ta Shehube is looking for an investment partner, with Ta Shehube remaining a major shareholder. The development is for a 24-bed lodge site. Endemic game in this area are gemsbok, springbok, eland, giraffe, blue wildebeest and red hartebeest, which roam the sparsely vegetated red sand dunes and the dry river valleys of the Nossob and Auob. An existing market attraction in Rooiputâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Park is the developed and popular campsite located here. It is a stop-over for the many adventure seekers visiting the wilderness trails offered by trail operators. Activities and attractions include game and bird viewing, camping and off-road activities. Marie se Draai Lodge Marie se Draai is situated about 160 km north of Two Rivers, along the Nossob River and about 5 km south of the Nossob camp, run by the South African National Parks. Investment opportunity: This concession has been awarded by the Government of Botswana to Holly Hock (Pty) Ltd. Holly Hock is looking for operational partner with tourism experience. Under this partnership Holly Hock will be a major shareholder. The development is for a 24-bed lodge site. Currently there are no camps or lodges situated in the Marie se Draai area, although the many adventure and wilderness trails offered by trail operators are an existing market attraction in the area. Activities and attractions include game and bird viewing, camping and off-road activities. 30

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Unions End Lodge Unions End is situated where the Namibian and Botswana borders meet, about 248 km northwest of Two Rivers along the Nossob River. Investment opportunity: This concession has been awarded by the Government of Botswana to Ta Shebube (Pty) Ltd. Ta Shehube is looking for an investment partner, with Ta Shehube remaining a major shareholder. The development is for a 24-bed lodge site. Currently there are no camps or lodges situated in the area, although there is an existing market attraction at Unions End, namely the many adventure and wilderness trails passing through the area offered by trail operators. Activities and attractions include game and bird viewing, camping and off-road activities. For more information about any of these investment opportunities, or any others currently being marketed by Boundless Southern Africa please contact the organisation directly: Contact: Deborah Kahatano, Programme Manager. E-mail: dkahatano@environment.gov.za Tel: +27 (0) 12 310 3734

NICHE TOURISM

BOTSWANA

Development of cultural tourism in Botswana

Various heritage stakeholders are paving the way for sustainable development and management of Botswana’s cultural and natural heritage resources, writes Abel Abednico Mabuse. Although efficient heritage management and development started about 45 years ago in Botswana, some concerned groups argue that cultural tourism has been lacklustre, haphazard, and often with no tangible benefits to communities. This article seeks to offer a broad view of efforts that have been undertaken in the development of heritage sites for tourism in Botswana. Although cultural tourism remains a vital way of diversifying Botswana’s tourism industry, there is still a lot of ground to cover. Active involvement of the private sector, the public, the media, and individuals interested in cultural and natural heritage of Botswana is required to realize tangible cultural tourism benefits to Botswana. BACKGROUND The Botswana National Museum has made significant efforts to develop Botswana’s heritage sites. Research conducted in the last 40 years has identified the significance of some of the prime heritage sites. The information has also been used in marketing some of these heritage sites. By the year 2008, 12 heritage sites around the country had been opened to the public for tourism purposes. These included the World Heritage Site of Tsodilo Hills, Gcwihaba Caves, Domboshaba Ruins, Lekhubu Island, Moremi Gorge, Lepokole Hills, Majojo Ruins, Matsieng, Three Dikgosi, Livingstone Memorial, Manyana Paintings, and Mogonye Gorges. At these sites visitors were guaranteed professionally-trained guides, camping facilities, and information packages detailing these outstanding heritage sites. When the effects of global economic recession hit the markets in 2008, several heritage stakeholders saw the need to develop more heritage sites to promote cultural tourism and help diversify Botswana’s economy. In response to this call, the Botswana National Museum developed an assortment of strategies aimed at developing cultural and natural heritage sites for tourism purposes. These include the Adopt a Monument Strategy launched in mid 2008. This encourages the private sector and individuals to have a stake in sustainable development and management of Botswana’s monuments. When the President launched his Roadmap for the Development of Botswana in 2008, the role of heritage sites in development of cultural identity of Botswana was emphasised. The Botswana National Museum was mandated to undertake sustainable development and management of 100 heritage sites across the country for tourism. The government effort to develop cultural tourism came at a crucial time when the department was faced with many challenges. The department came up with a strategy aimed at developing 20 national monuments of outstanding national value for educational and ecotourism purposes during the National Development Plan. Although this plan has been shelved due to lack of funding, it is worth discussing in this article. The target of this project was provision of basic facilities such as site museums, ablution blocks, temporary offices, employment of staff, and their accommodation at some of these monuments. REGIONAL CENTRES Mamuno Rock Engravings, Kasane Water Spring, Domboshaba Ruins, Dimawe Battlefield, Modipe, Gcwihaba Caves, Mothudi Ruins, Kolobeng, Old Palapye, and Lepokole were to serve as regional centres. Basic facilities were to be developed near Chapman’s Baobab, Pelotshetlha Lithops, Baratani Hill, Mogonye Gorge, Ngxhaishini Pan near Gweta, Majojo Ruins, Moremi, and Magagarape near Molepolole, Manyana Rock Paintings, and at Matsieng Rock Engravings. Although none of the aforementioned projects has taken place, a lot of development has been achieved through the ongoing 100 Monuments Project. Design of access roads, installation of signage, and employment of guides has been completed at over 50 heritage sites so far. Now it is possible to visit a total of 200 prominent heritage sites of Botswana. This has been made possible by development of what is termed ‘Botswana’s Master Heritage Trails.’ Through this plan, the Botswana National Museum has divided Botswana’s unique heritage sites into 9 heritage trails. These have been developed around significant landmarks of the country and aim to provide linkages of outstanding heritage sites with traditional tourist destinations. The Southern Region Heritage Trail forms part of the Greater Gaborone Heritage Trail. The

Greater Francistown Heritage Trail, on the other hand, has provoked public interest in development of heritage sites for tourism in Bukalanga region. One of the best examples is the Manshamakose Heritage Project. PARTNERSHIP While implementing this huge task of ensuring sustainable development of heritage sites for tourism, the Botswana National Museum is actively engaged in developing heritage management partnerships with local communities. This forms part of the Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) policy, which encourages local communities to utilize natural resources such as heritage sites for economic empowerment. Through these partnerships, local people living near monuments are encouraged and helped to form trusts, which generate income utilizing heritage resources found in their areas. By 2008, collection of entrance fees and camping fees, as well as selling of curios had been started by community trusts at Gcwihaba Caves, Lekhubu, Lepokole, Majojo Ruins, Manyana Rock Paintings, Matsieng, Mogonye Gorges, Moremi Gorge, Old Palapye, and Tsodilo Hills World Heritage Site. The establishment of Gaing-O Trust in Mmatshumo Village in the 1990s gives a classic example of the benefits of these sustainable heritage management ventures. This trust is tasked with management of Lekhubu National Monument, which is located in the Makgadikgadi Pans Heritage Trail. The trust was founded in the 1990s and by 1997 it had managed to attract various donor agencies. In the same year, the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (HIVOS) offered the trust P68,000.00 for the establishment of the trust and formulation of a management plan. In 2001, the trust acquired P92,000.00 from the European Development Fund, for the procurement of tents for accommodating the staff. A few years later in 2003, the Action for Economic Empowerment Trust funded the construction of offices and radio room, storerooms and a conference room to the tune of P1, 156, 596. Ever since its establishment, The Gaing-O Trust has been effective with regard to generating income through camping and entry fees. Between April and December 2007, the trust generated P318,511.20. Part of this income is used for the daily administration of the monument, payment of staff salaries, as well as funding village development projects. The management of Lekhubu Island has inspired several projects around the country. The community of Lepokole through Mapanda Trust has plans to develop a game park in the Lepokole Hills to improve tourism to the wellknown Lepokole Rock Paintings Cave. An ambitious ecotourism project offering accommodation chalets, development of nature trails, access roads, and a bridge is being undertaken at Moremi to help improve cultural heritage tourism to the Tswapong Hills. At Gcwihaba Caves, the Xai Xai Tlhabologo Trust and the Botswana National Museum have completed a gatehouse, camping sites and ablution blocks as a means of luring more tourists to the site. Further south at Mogonye, another ecotourism partnership project is nearing completion. A gatehouse, ablution blocks, dry camping sites, rest areas, and nature trails are being developed to promote tourism at Mmamotshwane Gorge and the picturesque landscape of Mogonye. Article published with acknowledgement to eTN | Nov 22, 2011 http://www. eturbonews.com/africa 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

MAURITIUS

NICHE TOURISM

Mauritius to promote spiritual heritage tourism

The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the country’s Council of Religions to open up places of worship to visitors, while at the same time looking together into a code of ethics for the tourism industry. The latter, among other issues, will surely prevent scantily-dressed or barefoot tourists from entering spiritually important places and places of worship, but the upcoming cooperation clearly has a wider brief and intent than just that. Mauritius already has visitors from abroad specifically coming to the island for religious festivals and commemorations, but this niche of tourism is to be widened and further enhanced by new products and initiatives to tap fully into this potentially-significant market segment. Similar to the Seychelles ‘Annual Calendar of Events,’ Mauritius also seems poised to summarize religious and ethnic festivals and provide comprehensive information for visitors through websites or printed guide material, to make tourists aware of the rich cultural diversity they can expect on the island while there on vacation. A competition for Mauritius citizens is planned for December 2011 to express themselves in regard to their values vis-a-vis tourism, with the results flowing into the preparation of a code of ethics, showing a broad-based approach to capture the sentiments of locals, and avoid antagonising them when organized tours descend on as many as 400 earmarked places of worship or otherwise cultural and spiritual significance. Article published with acknowledgement to eTN | Nov 18, 2011 http://www.eturbonews.com/africa 32

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

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Mauritius, a member of the ‘Vanilla Islands,’ will turn to its heritage in search of added attractions for tourist visitors, writes Dr Wolfgang H. Thome.

KENYA

NICHE TOURISM

Make Enlightened Wildlife Laws or Lose It All

ensure that wildlife management and conservation laws of Kenya will serve long into the future and be fully supported by lawmakers by the time they go to Cabinet for approval. We need to capitalise on the goodwill and expertise of Kenyans who already care deeply about the environment and wildlife â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and who will settle for nothing less than a model Wildlife Policy and Bill. A RARE OPPORTUNITY The review of the Wildlife Bill underway at present is a rare opportunity for Kenya to get it right. New wildlife legislation is badly needed but we must not rush and risk missing an opportunity to develop the most progressive wildlife legislation in Africa. Much has changed in Kenya since 1979 when the Wildlife Act was first enacted. History is being made as the citizenry works together with the government on a new approach in which conservation is embraced as an integral driver of mainstream national development and economic well-being.

In recent weeks Kenyans have been shocked at the sight of elephants and rhinos gunned down for their ivory and their horns, writes Paula Kahumbu. Poaching for bushmeat threatens many of our wild species, our national parks have been invaded by cattle, and our lions have been reduced to fewer than 2,000 individuals, down by 85 percent in only ten years. Our wildlife management and protection laws, which worked well when they were enacted, are inadequate for the job today. The decline of wildlife in Kenya means that we are rapidly losing our place as the wildlife capital of the world. Tourism, industry, jobs, the economy and our environment area all at stake. THE NEED FOR CHANGE The way we manage wildlife needs to change radically. And we now have the opportunity to achieve this through the enactment of a new enlightened new Wildlife Policy and Bill that could turn the situation around. And that is why there is such enormous citizen interest in the process. Kenya is still operating with wildlife legislation that is 35 years old, The original Wildlife (Conservation and Management) Act of 1976 established the Wildlife Conservation and Management Department and amalgamated the then Game Department and the Kenya National Parks to form a single agency. Subsequently, through an Amendment to the Act in 1989, the Kenya Wildlife Service was established to replace WCMD. This new act succeeded in enhancing wildlife conservation, significantly reducing wildlife poaching especially of endangered species such as elephants and rhinos, and establishing a unitary institution, KWS, to be responsible for wildlife conservation and management countrywide. Despite these successes, the law did not adequately address the fact that nearly 70 percent of wildlife in Kenya occurs outside of protected areas, where conflict between people and wildlife is leading to population collapses of many species even in renowned conservation areas like the Masai Mara. CONSULTATION In 2006 a national effort was initiated to redraft the wildlife laws by going to the public in every region. The process has been slow, and has involved several technical committees. By the time the draft law was harmonized with the new constitution and presented to the public for stakeholder views on August 29 2011, it was clear that the proposed Wildlife Policy and Bill needed completely new thinking to fit into the spirit of the new Constitution and accommodate devolution of responsibility, benefit sharing and rights of citizens. Conservationists, land owners and communities are now helping to

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? Enlightened wildlife legislation should provide a roadmap for a new and mutually empowering partnership between government authorities and the stakeholders who include businesses, community groups and private land owners. If communities and private land owners are recognized as legitimate custodians of wildlife, they will have the incentive to protect, manage and benefit from it. If that happens then the job of KWS is halved because 65 percent of Kenya's wildlife is on private and community land. We have it in our power to get creative with solutions to human/ wildlife conflict, and to fashion simple incentives to enable land owners to invest in and benefit from wildlife. This results in new responsibility, because the beneficiaries of wildlife will be accountable and responsible. This will generate new opportunities for jobs and income. It is already happening in the forestry and water sectors, now it is time for the management of wildlife resources to be devolved. Since wildlife occurs on land, we are also looking at developments in our land laws. Today open wilderness might be considered idle land yet it is hugely productive for nature and wildlife. The value of pollination for crops, clean water, carbon stores, pest control, biodiversity, traditional medicines, food and fresh air may exceed our GDP many times over. We need a new land use type called 'nature conservation' to be recognized as a legitimate land use along with agriculture, industry and residential. The kind of development incentives we see in Kenya today shows that there is no support for conservation. You cannot get finance for wildebeest, water or even for planting trees. Yet much of the economic gain from present land development is not sustainable but is destroying Kenya's natural capital. We are stealing from future generations. The economic gains of protecting nature will be sustained into perpetuity because if left alone, or used gently, nature replenishes itself. We need a progressive wildlife policy to protect Kenya's natural assets and wildlife landscapes most of which are outside of the protected areas. The country's official protected areas cannot survive as islands in a sea of development. CONCLUSION Kenya should take her place as the global model of successful economic development that makes environmental protection and conservation a key pillar of a new and more prosperous country. The economic well-being of Kenya depends ultimately, not on the bricks and mortar of runaway development activity, but on the natural environment. By embracing conservation we can create a sustainable basis for our continued economic and social development. Article reproduced with acknowledgement to the Nairobi Star. 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

ACHIEVEMENTS & ACCOLADES

SEYCHELLES

Constance Ephelia Resort

Seychelles and EarthQuest Management Consultants awarded Landscape Gold Award Constance Ephelia Resort, Seychelles, together with EarthQuest Management Consultants, received the prestigious Gold award in recognition for superior Landscape Construction with design by Colin Okashimo & Associates (Singapore) at the recent South African Landscape Industry awards ceremony, writes Ingrid van der Westhuizen. Constance Ephelia Resort is part of the Constance Hotels Experience, a group that comprises seven exceptional, luxurious fivestar hotels located on the most exquisite and exclusive islands in the Indian Ocean. Constance Ephelia is situated on a stretch of pristine beach and surrounded by 120 hectares of lush and rare tropical vegetation on the island of Mahé, Seychelles. With this resort, as with all Constance Hotels Experience properties, preserving and protecting the environment is key, and this focus was maintained in the design and execution of the landscaping of the property. The monumental project at Constance Ephelia Resort was designed by esteemed landscape design company, Colin Okashimo & Associates in Singapore – a company with an impressive portfolio that includes hotels, resorts and

residential landscaping in Mauritius, Seychelles, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Maldives. But it was due to EarthQuest Management Consultants, spearheaded by Renzo Derksen and supported by Garrith Brokensha and Brian Brigilia between March 2009 and November 2010, that the spectacular design vision became reality. This is EarthQuest’s biggest project to date – not only from a size perspective (the property measures 120 000 square metres), but also the logistics and planning, procurement of plant material, climatic conditions as well as the extraordinary and often unrealistic deadlines the team had to meet for completion of landscape areas. Alex de Maroussem sourced and propagated all 195,000 plants used between January 2009 and July 2010. The final result of

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

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this mammoth undertaking is nothing short of spectacular. It is thanks to the annual South African Landscape Industry (SALI) merit awards that the landscape industry has grown in stature, rivaling that of the international industry. A total of 112 high calibre projects were judged over a period of 35 days, where many considerations, including the use of water-wise landscaping, indigenous planting, environmentally responsive design and construction. The increase in the number of Gold Awards made in 2011 is very much a reflection of the growth of the landscaping standards in Southern Africa. Article published with acknowledgement to Origin Blu Communications. www.originblu. com

SOUTH AFRICA

ACHIEVEMENTS & ACCOLADES

Imvelo Awards – all the winners! The 2011 Imvelo Responsible Tourism Awards is organised by the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA) in association with the National Department of Tourism and is supported by SATSA, Absa, the Department of Water Affairs, Eskom, the Industrial Development Corporation and Don't Waste Services. Imvelo, running for the tenth year, awards tourism businesses that demonstrate sustained responsible practice in their operations in terms of their natural, social and economic environments. SATSA members are encouraged to enter this important awards programme. overall winner, selected Officer of FEDHASA said the Brett Dungan, Chief Executive ain Aerial Cableway ners, is the Table Mount from the six category win the company’s overall 1491). The judges applauded Company (SATSA Member tice. “The company prac ible commitment to respons performance and sustained tal stewardship, having the forefront of environmen has for many years been at Certification and one ca to achieve Green Globe been the first business in Afri through the SABS. It ieve the ISO14001 certification of the first in tourism to ach sensitive and iconic t mos iness in one of the world’s operates a high-impact bus UNEP.” as a World Heritage Site by the sites, one that is recognised

HAPPY WINNERS AT THE IMVELO AWARDS The Drakensberg Sun Lifestyle Resort walked away as the group winner in the category Best Overall Environmental Management System. The Nkomazi Game Reserve in Mpumalanga is highly commended in this category. Other finalists were the Riverside Lifestyle Resort at the Vaal River, the Windmill Casino and Entertainment Centre in Bloemfontein, Tourvest Destination Management ( SATSA Member 1074), the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company (SATSA Member 1491), Sun International Zambia, Kayak Africa's Mambo Island Camp, Nkomazi Game Reserve in Mpumalanga and Camp Jabulani ( SATSA Member 1650). Entries were judged on combined environmental issues including management systems and procedures, conservation activities, social and economic initiatives, communication systems and overall awareness creation. In the category Best Single Resource Management Programme - Energy Management the winner is the Town Lodge Sandton in Grayston Drive. The other finalists were the Drakensberg Sun Lifestyle Resort, Avis Rent a Car (SATSA Member 115), Palazzo Montecasino, Sun City Resort and the Centurion Lake Hotel. The Drakensberg Sun Lifestyle Resort is the winner in the category Best Single Resource Management Programme – Water Management. The other finalists are Sun City Resort, the Windmill Casino and Entertainment Centre in Bloemfontein, Southern Sun Newlands and the Teemane Flamingo Casino in Kimberley.

Dungan said particular attention has been given to minimising the impacts that this business has, while recognising the importance and growing international demand for access. "This year the company has transported over 775 000 visitors to the mountain top, making it the Western Cape's single most important tourist attraction, and nationally only second to the Kruger National Park. It has been a finalist and winner in various categories of Imvelo since 2005, and in spite of its size has managed to hold its own against significant competition for recognition," said Dungan. In the category Best Social Involvement Programme the group winner is Sun International SATSA Member 347) in Zambia. The independent winner is African Impact. Other finalists in the category were the Townhouse Hotel, Avis Rent a Car (SATSA Member 115), Vineyard Hotel and Spa SATSA Member 848) , d'Ouwe Werf ( a former SATSA Member), Sun City Resort, Emzini Tours, African Impact, Kayak Africa's Mambo Island Camp in Malawi and Awol Tours (SATSA Member 1673). Entrants were judged on examples of corporate and social responsibility like community investment initiatives, local outsourcing, community health, welfare and education activities, promotion of local SMME enterprises as well as local HIV/Aids and other social programmes. In the category Best Practice – Economic Impact the group winner is Sun International Zambia. The independent winner is the Backpack and African Travel Centre. Other finalists in this category are Drakensberg Sun Lifestyle Resort, Shangana Cultural Village, Cape Town International Convention Centre, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, Kondowe Nature Reserve in Limpopo and Motsethabo Tours in Alexandra. Entrants were judged on local purchasing and economic practices, employment equity, Black Economic Empowerment, employee training and development of and adherence to general and industryspecific legislation.

In the category Best Single Resource Management Programme – Waste Management the group winner is the Southern Sun Waterfront Hotel in Cape Town. The independent winner in this category is the Backpack and Africa Travel Centre. The other finalists are the Drakensberg Sun Lifestyle Resort, the Garden Court Eastern Boulevard in Cape Town, the Southern Sun Grayston and the Turtle Bay Beach Club in Watamu in Kenya. In the category Most Empowered Tourism Business the winner is Southern Sun Hotels Interests (SATSA Member 336). The Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town is highly commended in this category. Other finalists are the Garden Court in Hatfield, Tsheola Dinare Tours SATSA Member 1861)and Transport and the Kondowe Nature Reserve. Entrants were judged on the extent to which they addressed empowerment and contributed to a globally competitive, democratically representative tourism industry. In the category Investor in People, the winner is the Vineyard Hotel and Spa (SATSA Member 848). Motsethabo Tours is highly commended in this category. The other finalists are the Table Bay Hotel (SATSA Member 347), Southern Sun Hotels, the Cape Grace Hotel ( SATSA Member 608) , the Garden Court Hatfield and African Chapter Tours in Midrand, Gauteng SATSA Member 1457). Entrants were judged on the practical development of human resources, determined by national minimum standards or guidelines. Imvelo – which means ‘nature' in South Africa's Nguni languages – forms part of an ongoing hospitality industry campaign to encourage industry members to accept voluntary guidelines promoting responsible tourism. The awards are in line with the responsible tourism guidelines for the South African hospitality industry and the UN World Tourism Organisation's code of ethics, and are supported by the Heritage Environmental Rating Programme. For more information visit http://www.imveloawards.co.za/ 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

SOUTH AFRICA

BUSINESS & FINANCE

SATSA Market Intelligence Report (MIR – January 2012) Introduction: Welcome to the Satsa’s MIR for January 2012. Below we aim to provide you with market intelligence on the tourism industry. The information included below was the latest available on 30 November 2011. Arrivals: The latest available data from Statistics South Africa shows that South Africa received 1 176 790 overnight arrivals (excluding same day visitors) from overseas between January and July 2011, which was a 6.1 percent decrease over January to July 2010.

Hotel Stats: The data from STR Global indicates that in October 2011, all hotels in South Africa achieved an average occupancy of 61.6 percent which were up 5.1 percent on October 2010. The average room rate (ARR) increased marginally by 0.2 percent to R845 and the RevPar increased by 5.4 percent to R520. During October 2011 five star hotels achieved an average occupancy of 57.5 percent (up 11.3 percent on October 2010), with four star hotels achieving 60 percent (up 0.7 percent) and three star hotels achieving 63.6 percent (up 4.8 percent). ARR in October 2011 were down for 5-star hotels (down 2.1 percent to R1 525), while four star hotels recorded growth of 3 percent (to R841) and three star hotels being up 1.1 percent (to R679). RevPar were up for all grades of hotels with five star hotels being up 8.9 percent (to R877), four star hotels being up 3.7 percent (to R504) and three star hotels being up 5.9 percent (to R432). For the period January to October 2011, the average occupancy of all hotels were down by 2.7 percent (to 55.2 percent), with ARR being down 13.6 percent (to R838) and RevPar being down 15.9 percent (to R462). ACSA data: The data from ACSA for the January to October in 2011 indicate increases in passengers arriving on international, regional and domestic flights for all three major airports.

South Africa’s main overseas source markets recorded growth with overnight arrivals from the UK improving marginally by 1.8 percent (to 235 894 overnight arrivals) between January and July 2011 over the same period in 2010. Overnight arrivals from Germany recorded 23 percent growth (to 119 018 arrivals) while the USA also achieved growth (20.3 percent to 165 171 arrivals) for the same period. The decline in total overnight arrivals from overseas while the main overseas source markets recorded growth is due a decline of 37 percent in the overnight arrivals from Central and South America during January to July 2011. South Africa recorded growth of 109 percent in arrivals from Central and South America due to the FIFA Soccer World Cup which was hosted in June/July 2010. Overall total foreign arrivals were up 3.2 percent to 4 714 955 with overnight arrivals from Africa being up 9.8 percent to 3 524 429. 36

Jan & Oct 2011 over Jan & Oct 2010

Passengers arriving on International Flights

Passengers arriving on Regional Flights

Passengers arriving on Domestic Flights

OR Tambo

2.4 per cent

7.6 per cent

4.9 per cent

Cape Town International 3.0 per cent

2.9 per cent

4.1 per cent

Durban International

N/A

6.6 per cent

7.3 per cent

What this means for my business: The increase in the overnight arrivals from the UK, Germany and USA along with the increases in passengers arriving on international, regional and domestic flights at South Africa’s three main airports should be seen against the decline in average occupancies, room rates and RevPar for all hotels. As stated in previous reports, it should be kept in mind that these numbers refer to people and not bednights sold. Indications are that tourists have significantly reduced their length of stay and accordingly the number of bednight sold has reduced despite an increase in the number of tourists. Indications from tour operators are also that the length of trips has been reduced so total spend is down. Given the global economic situation which many economists think may head for a double dip recession, tourism enterprises are encouraged to continue to reduce cost and manage their cash flows. The answer to the question of when the situation is going to improve depends on the economist that you ask. Whatever the opinion on when, the general consensus seems to be that the situation will improve slowly but steadily.

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

1/2012

SOUTH AFRICA

LEGAL & LEGISLATION

FROM THE

Service levels prior to and after the CPA A lot has been said about liability, products and other aspects of the CPA but what about service? What exactly are the obligations of the supplier and the rights of the consumer? “Is it all ‘one way traffic’, is the consumer KING or does the supplier have rights as well?”, asks Advocate Louis Nel. The CPA defines ‘service’ very widely and it includes inter alia any work or undertaking; the provision of information, advice or consultation; transportation; the provision of accommodation, entertainment and access to an event, premises, activity or facility (the latter includes vehicles etc). The definition of ‘service provider’ must be read in conjunction and that includes not only the party providing a service but also one who promotes and offers such a service. The act only applies to services in the following circumstances: When it is promoted (‘advertise, display or offer .. willingess to supply’) When it is actually supplied but only if it is supplied in terms of ‘transaction’ i.e. • ‘in the ordinary course of business’ • AND for a ‘consideration’ i.e. money, credit, ticket, barter or loyalty award or coupon The so-called ‘supply chain’ which is any party who directly or indirectly contributed to the supply of services to the consumer includes service providers. Thus a disgruntled consumer can simply ‘lump together’ all such parties when a complaint is lodged with the consumer commissioner. Another aspect of liability that is of the utmost importance for service providers is section 61 which addresses the issue of absolute liability i.e. the providers of products or inadequate instructions or warnings can be liable without negligence being a factor whatsoever. What makes this section extremely relevant for service providers is that service providers who ‘supply, install or provide access to goods’ as part of their services are deemed to be the suppliers of such goods (section 61 (2)). Take, for example, chairs and tables at functions, providing access to game reserves (and all the risks that go hand in hand with that) and game drive vehicles! One of the most onerous clauses in the act is section 27 and the disclosure duty of intermediaries (i.e. someone representing another party regarding the supply of services) – it goes beyond travel agents and anyone not actually providing a service him or herself but effectively doing so as an agent for another will fall into this category. These parties have to disclose a whole host of information (in terms of section 27 & regulations 9 & 10), inter alia a breakdown of costs, commissions, information that not only is relevant (objective) but also such information as ‘may be relevant to the consumer’ (subjective). It must also be supplied timeously, in plain language, must be ‘adequate and appropriate in the circumstances’ and a record of such information must be kept for 3 (three) years. It is therefore advised that service providers develop a practical mechanism for the above including templates which must (I’d suggest) be initialled by the customer as that would also address the obligation to clarify ‘any apparent misapprehension’ (section 41) the customer may have. It is the classic issue of ensuring there is no gap between expectation (customer) and deliverable (service provider). The marketing (words and conduct) of services must be done in such a way that it is not false or misleading regarding inter alia the nature, advantages or any material aspect of the service (sections 29 & 41).

The consumer has rights (section 54) regarding services, but before we get there, let’s look at the definitions upon which such rights are predicated. Section 53 defines a defect in the performance of a service as follows: ‘results of the service less acceptable than persons generally would be reasonably entitled to expect in the circumstances’. The latter words are crucial as therein lies the possibility for the supplier of the service to ‘raise the bar’ and lessen or obviate complaints. What does it mean? If we read section 54 which spells out the consumer’s rights regarding service, it becomes clear that these ‘circumstances’ are in fact the entire sales process i.e. the so-called ‘circumstances of supply’ including not only what the sales persons said or omitted to say but also applicable ‘criteria and conditions’ such as Terms and Conditions. What exactly is the consumer entitled to and what are his remedies? Section 54 states that a consumer is entitled to the following: • Timely performance and completion of services • Timely notice of unavoidable delays • Performance of the service in a ‘manner and quality’ persons are ‘generally entitled to expect’ • Goods required for the performance of the service must be ‘free of defects’ (see definition and discussion above) – it is important to ascertain the use to which the goods will be put as the definition is limited to general use • The aforesaid also applies to the installation of goods – one can think of stands at an exhibition. The consumer’s remedies are to require service provider to either (1) rectify or (2) reimburse a ‘reasonable portion of the price paid’ which ‘portion’ will be based on ‘the extent of the failure’ Conversely what can the supplier do to avoid or lessen the chance of complaints? • Ensure it has revisited its ‘circumstances of supply’, analysed it, ensured that it meets all the CPA requirements and has trained its staff • Address the expectation and deliverable gap alluded to above i.e. what are the consumer’s expectations and are they different from what he/she would be ‘generally entitled to expect’? • If you expect or anticipate a delay, advise the consumer timeously • Check applicable Terms and Conditions for compliance [sections 22: plain language; 48: unfair, unreasonable & unjust terms; 51 & regulation 45 (3): prohibited contracts & terms] • Consider factors the body adjudicating can consider (section 52) e.g. fair value, bargaining position, pricing etc and trade accordingly As I’ve tried to illustrate above, the consumer may be KING BUT it is not all one way traffic - It should be borne in mind that the CPA talks not only about responsible consumerism and behaviour [Section 3 (1)(e) & (f)] but this in turn is based on ‘consumer information’ and on ‘informed consumer choice’ [Section 3 (1)(e)]. The CPA also clearly states that the common law is not revoked – rather the aim is to ‘codify and improve upon the common law’ (Explanatory Memorandum – page 88), although it will ‘modify (it) in several aspects’ (Explanatory Memorandum – page 84). The Consumer Tribunal or adjudicating court is, in fact, requested to ‘develop the common law’. Thus, unless specifically or by implication ‘recalled’ by the CPA principles such as caveat emptor and caveat subscriptor is still alive and well. I therefore believe any claim by a consumer must at the outset be judged against this backdrop i.e. was the consumer adequately informed (& thus not misled, etc & T&C comply with e.g. sections 22, 29 , 41, 48 & 51 & not contrary to regulation 45 [3]) and, based on that information ,was the consumer’s behaviour responsible!! It must also be borne in mind that the CPA also entitles suppliers to raise cancellation fees (section 17) provided that stated requirements [section 17 (4)] are met i.e. nature of goods/services, period of notice, the supplier finding an alternative consumer (e.g. in this case not being paid twice for the same service) & the norm in the particular industry. © ADV LOUIS NEL Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide a brief overview of legal matters pertaining to the travel, tourism and SMME industry and is not intended as legal advice. As every situation depends on its own facts and circumstances, professional advice should be sought in each instance. © Adv Louis Nel, BENCHMARK, SEPTEMBER 2011

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SOUTH AFRICA

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SOUTH AFRICA

The last issue of the Tattler featured intrepid writer and photographer, Scott Ramsay’s epic ‘Year In The Wild’ journey, which will see him cover 31 of South Africa’s most famous and important conservation areas, in order to raise awareness of conservation and nature tourism as an important player in the country. As promised, Scott has provided us with a CD of his images taken at the Namaqua National Park during stage 15 of his journey, from which we have selected a few images for your visual sensory pleasure – Ed.

PHOTO GALLERY

at /YearInTheWild. Scott Ramsay is also available for photographic assignments by e-mailing scottramsay@gmail.com Namaqua National Park Every year in the southern spring, the world’s most spectacular array of wild flowers blankets the dry, dusty region of Namaqualand. It surpasses all expectations. The Succulent Karoo Biome, within which the park exists, has the largest and most concentrated number of succulent plant species in

the world: more than 3 500, of which more than 1 000 are endemic. Then turn your gaze upwards at night and gaze upon some of the brightest and clearest stars. Out of flower season, the region still captivates with its lonely, beautiful landscape of granite koppies, icy Atlantic coastline and quirky Quiver Trees. Size: 700 km2. The Park is situated near Kamieskroon on the north-western coast of South Africa.

For more information on Scott’s journey, which ends on 30 June 2012, visit http://www. yearinthewild.com/ or on Facebook and Twitter

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SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

PHOTO GALLERY

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

SOUTH AFRICA

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PHOTO GALLERY

SOUTH AFRICA

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SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM & CONSERVATION

Thula Thula

SOUTH AFRICA

Peace and tranquility in the heart of Zululand The Thula Thula herd enjoying their freedom.

Tourism Tattler’s Bev Langkilde and Lawrence Anthony

The Zulu name Thula Thula literally means peace and tranquility, which is exactly what conservationist, Lawrence Anthony aspired to when he established this exclusive private game reserve in 2000, writes Des Langkilde. “When I bought the property, which had previously been a hunting farm, in 1998 I had no intention of creating an internationally renown tourist attraction, let alone an exclusive safari lodge and luxury tented camp”, says Anthony. But fate has a way of intervening in the lives of men, specifically when ones aspirations are in alignment with nature as Anthony’s clearly are. His two books, Babylon’s Ark, which describes his part in the incredible wartime rescue of the Baghdad Zoo and his latest book, The Elephant Whisperer, which recounts his rescue, relocation and rehabilitation of a rogue elephant herd to Thula Thula reserve and his mystical bonding with the matriarch and her ensuing offspring, are testimony to how fate has intervened in the life of this extraordinary conservationist. “One day I received a call from the Elephant Managers and Owners Association (EMOA) 42

asking if I wanted to adopt a herd of nine ‘escape artist’ elephant, whose owners at a reserve in Mpumalanga had threatened to shoot them if a new home could not be found. I naturally said yes, and from that naive decision my life and the future of Thula Thula changed forever, says Anthony. Over the years that I battled to create a bond with the herd, I came to realize that the elephant had a great deal to teach me about life, loyalty and freedom.” Of the nine Elephant, the Mpumalanga owners prior to relocation put down a matriarch and her calf. The original herd of seven have now grown to twenty. The introduction of elephant into the reserve is significant for a number of reasons. Firstly, the last free roaming jumbos in the area had been hunted out almost a century ago. Secondly, Thula Thula is the oldest private game reserve in the province and traces its origins back to King Shaka, founder of

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the Zulu Empire, who declared the area his private hunting ground and was named by his people as Ndlovu Mkulu (the great Elephant). Thirdly the introduction of Elephant forced Anthony to erect electrified fencing around the 5000 acre perimeter of the reserve thus enabling the addition of other potentially ‘dangerous’ animals into the reserve. Last but certainly not least, is the fact that the local Zulu people residing in villages surrounding the reserve, many of whom had never seen a live elephant in their lives before, could potentially benefit through employment opportunities by turning the reserve into a ‘Big 5’ tourist attraction.

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM & CONSERVATION

SOUTH AFRICA

The significance of this last point was not lost on Anthony, who immediately embarked on a crusade to educate and convince the tribal leaders of the villages and tribal lands surrounding the reserve to join him in conserving wildlife, instead of hunting or using the land for cattle grazing, to create one of the finest reserves imaginable. His vision of extending Thula Thula into the tribal lands abutting the Umfolozi-Hluhluwe reserve could potentially create an animal migration corridor that might one day extend through northern KwaZulu-Natal, into the Kruger National Park and hence through the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park that links into the Gonarezhou National Park in Mozambique. It’s not impossible that such a corridor might one day extend into Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. The secret to this dream relied entirely on his convincing the Induna’s (chief’s) of each of five Zulu clans who own the tribal trust lands, to agree individually to lease the land to a single trust. This trust would be known as the Royal Zulu and according to Anthony, the benefits would go straight back into the struggling local communities. To date, the first areas of this project are already fenced in and the project is moving ahead slowly but surely. Dams and roads have been built and more wildlife has been introduced. Pressing ahead with his vision, Anthony acquired an adult white rhino, affectionately named Heidi, who was tragically killed by poachers for its horn. Several months later Thula Thula acquired a four-month old

rhino from the Moholoholo Rehab Centre (MRC) in Limpopo after the one-day old calf was found alone and badly dehydrated in a Freestate game reserve. The staff handreared Thabo, as she was named, with the aim of releasing her into the bush once she is old enough. Two months later MRC again arrived with an eight-month old baby rhino female, named Ntombi (girl), whose mother had been killed by another rhino. The pair, now over two years old roam the reserve in peaceful bliss accompanied around the clock by ranger staff at night and by their adopted handler, Alyson McPhee who keeps watch on them during the day. It’s the strangest sight to witness Alyson, a British national, resplendent in shorts, T-shirt bearing a slogan ‘Certified Insane’ and beach sandals standing nonchalantly in the bush while guests are advised not to disembark from the game drive vehicle. Being a person who ‘thinks inside the box’, Anthony founded The Earth Organization - a non-profit, non-partisan, issue-oriented organization whose members come from all walks of life, from all cultures, races and religious backgrounds, all motivated by a common cause, to reverse the dwindling spiral of life on Earth, and create a healthy habitable Planet on which all life flourishes and prospers, and of which we can be proud. “I have never understood the saying ‘to think outside the box’, says Anthony. Why would anyone sit inside a box then think outside of it? Rather just get out of the box. It took billions of years to develop a viable, balanced relationship amongst life forms

on planet Earth. In less than 100 years, Earth's survival potential has deteriorated to a point where we must now consider that man himself could one day become an endangered species. Something can be done about it and that’s why The Earth Organization was founded.” Thula Thula is situated near Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and is a mere two-hour drive from Durban and forty-five minutes away from Richards Bay Harbour and airport. A 700m airstrip has been excavated in the reserve to accommodate light aircraft. For more information visit http://www. thulathula.com/index.aspx or http:// www.earthorganization.org/default. aspx or http://www.lawrenceanthony. co.za/

Thabo and Ntombi, are closely monitored by their adopted ‘mother’ Alyson McPhee

Electrified wire positioned at elephant head height surrounding the main lodge and tented camp areas avoids building thatch from becoming elephant fodder.

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SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

SOUTH AFRICA

RISK & INSURANCE

Insurance underwriter’s

remarkable contribution to tourism

Insurance companies love to tell you how much money they’re saving you – it seems to be the only unique selling proposition their marketing panjandrums can come up with. But one insurance company has come up with a unique proposition – to help you earn money, writes Martin Hatchuel. BnB SURE (website http://www.bnbsure.co.za/default.htm) is the only company in the insurance industry that I know of that’s actively set out to make money for its clients by attracting business for them. Its web site, www. bnbfinder.co.za provides free listing and ‘bookability’ for all the companies insured – as does its recently launched ‘mobi’ site, www.bnbfinder.mobi. (And who else in the insurance industry supports not one, but two such sites?) The BnB SURE web people recently released stats that show that www. bnbfinder.co.za attracts about 148 unique visitors per day – an estimated 54,000 per year – from South Africa as well as from countries like Italy, Switzerland, the UAE and India. At a very conservative estimate, about 10 percent of visitors make reservations as a result of their time on the site – that’s 5,400 reservations. Assuming (again, very conservatively) that each reservation represented one person for one night at R500.00 a time – the total revenue generated is somewhere in the region of R2,700,000.00 I’m sure that the real figure is somewhere way above that - but it’s difficult to say. What I do know is that the .mobi site – www.bnbfinder.mobi – which went live only recently – is going to make a huge difference in time to come.

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How fantastic to be able to arrive in out of the way places like Alice or Boston (in KwaZulu-Natal), and search easily for accommodation on your phone! That’s convenience that can’t be beat. (And it’s free to all BnB SURE Policyholders... no membership fees or commissions apply.) So I say – well done BnB SURE - http://www.bnbsure.co.za/default.htm it’s good to have you on our side. Published with acknowledgement to This Tourism Week. thistourismweek.co.za.

www.

SAFETY & SECURITY

SOUTH AFRICA

tsi to be funded by TOMSA

Following on the article in our last issue, SATSA can now inform you that the tsi (Tourism Safety Initiative), set up and administered by SATSA, is to receive anchor funding from the TBCSA out of the Administration fee of the TOMSA levy collections – and the initial agreement is to fund tsi for two years (2011 and 2012), says Annelie Barkema, tsi (Tourism Safety Initiative), National Project Leader. So tsi can face 2012 with its financial base securely in place, and go from strength to strength. Says SATSA CEO Michael Tatalias, “When the process to set up tsi began way back in 2006, it was our intention to make this an industry-wide initiative. Also, crime and safety issues have a negative effect on all of our marketing efforts abroad. Thus the logical place to house tsi was alongside the TOMSA levy collection process – to protect all marketing funds that are spent. tsi is now a proven concept, and made its contribution to the event-free World Cup. The problems that face us come in cycles, and we need to be ready to meet all the new ones that face us. SATSA has always supported the TOMSA levy, and once again sees this financial support for tsi as a further justification for SATSA to strongly recommend that all SATSA members to become active participants in the TOMSA process, by registering as a levy Collector with TBC, and encouraging your guests to pay a TOMSA levy on their hotel, lodge and other accommodation bills, as well as on car

hire and other tourism products. Together we can make sure that we collect significant funds, and that the hotels and establishments apply a levy, collect it, and pay it over to TBCSA. This is an important development, and a world first as a national effort to support national marketing efforts. Last year the TBCSA paid over R100 million of TOMSA money to SA Tourism to support their marketing efforts. This is a significant amount of money, and it also gives the private sector the required ‘skin in the game’, to be taken seriously by government as an equal partner in developing tourism. We all need to do our part.

To become a TOMSA Collector: hp?nav=how_to Click on www.tomsa.co.za/index.p and follow the directions.

What is tsi? tsi works closely with Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA), cross-industry anti-crime initiatives like SABRIC (the banks), PSI (petroleum), CGCSA (retail), and others, and tourism industry partners which include most of the tourism associations and their members. By using combined resources tsi can do much more to assist the South African Police, and to measure the impact of crime on the Tourism industry. By working together, the industry partners can: • share information that can lead to arrests, prosecution, and conviction • create better knowledge of how and where crime affects Tourism • enable the police to react timeously • ensure that victims of crime are properly supported • bring crime figures down tsi is an anti-crime initiative and a victim support programme for the Tourism industry in South Africa.

Therefore, help us to help you.

tsi is a national project under the banner of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), has Tourism Marketing South Africa (TOMSA) as the anchor funder, and is administered by the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA).

If in doubt whether to request assistance or to report an incident that affected your tourism business, your staff, your clients, or others in the Tourism industry – do contact tsi on e-mail Tourism.Safety@ satsa.co.za or 24/7 tel 0861 874 911 or fax 086 686 2057 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

Virtuous Viano

TRANSPORT

SOUTH AFRICA

Like its namesake, the romantic town in the province of Reggio Emilia, Italy, the Mercedes-Benz Viano AMBIENTE exudes a distinct sense of European quality combined with driver and passenger comfort, writes Des Langkilde.

The tourism industry is very much about image as we strive to ensure that tourists depart from their holiday or business incentive trip with positive memories. And what better way to start that image than on your guests’ arrival. First impressions create lasting memories as I discovered when taking a Viano on a ‘Fam’ trip from Umhlanga to Thula Thula Private Game Reserve in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal. Thula Thula is a mere two-hour drive from Umhlanga but I first had to collect my passengers from King Shaka International Airport, who had just concluded a five-day ‘Fam’ trip of Cape Town hosted by Tourvest’s Event Dynamics. Loading luggage into the rear compartment was a breeze with ample room for the suitcases of our party of four. The automated sliding doors on both sides of the Viano proved to be a worthy feature avoiding the need for passengers to clamber over each other to get to their seats. In the Viano model, the five rear leather seats are confortable and well appointed with two seats facing the rear and a removable console with a fold-out butterfly table between the two, giving passengers a sense of reclining in an executive lounge rather than a people carrier. The seats slide in 2.5 cm increments, recline and can be turned to face forward. They can also be folded down or removed completely to increase the load capacity, although as a shuttle vehicle I would imagine 46

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that fitting two three-seater benches in the rear to provide eight seats in total would be preferable. This option is available from Mercedes-Benz. Hitting the open road along the N2 north-bound freeway is where the driving comfort afforded by the fuel-efficient 3.0CDI V6 turbo-diesel engine really comes to the fore. The 165 kW power plant delivers an impressive peak torque of 440 Nm at low revs to effortlessly overtake the lumbering cane and timberhauling trucks that frequent the road. Reining the Viano in to keep within the speed limit proved to be the biggest driving challenge, but if I’d figured out how to use the SPEEDTRONIC Cruise control before embarking on the trip, this could have been obviated. Driver comfort has been well provided for and I found the steering to be direct and responsive, which I read later in the provided manual is catered for by virtue of ‘Adaptive ESP’, self-levelling rear air suspension and a newly developed chassis that provides for improved ride comfort. Approaching the final eight kilometres to our destination presented a poorly maintained road surface with ample potholes and a few kilometres of muddy and rutted sand road, which caused some consternation, as I visualised the Viano’s low profile tyres taking a pounding. Thankfully my misgivings

SOUTH AFRICA

were soon dispelled as the Viano’s responsive steering avoided the craters and the superior suspension smoothed out the ruts, resulting in a barely noticeable change in passenger comfort. On arrival at Thula Thula’s reception, we were welcomed by their friendly and hospitable staff who promptly loaded our luggage into an open 4x4 safari vehicle for a game viewing style transfer to our allotted quarters in the luxury tented safari camp some four kilometres into the lush sub-tropical bush. My preconceived visualisation of traversing the game reserve in the refined luxury of the Viano disappeared into my jolting spine as we bounced around elevated seats over rain-eroded jeep tracks. I verbalised my thoughts to our driver, but was dissuaded from my foolish thoughts by being informed that the reserve’s tracks would not accommodate the Viano’s wider wheel base and low ground clearance. Having relaxed over the first day’s scheduled early morning game walk, afternoon game drive, excellent cuisine, fine wine and interesting repartee with the camp’s mostly European guests, I felt compelled to take our Scandinavian guest on a day excursion to St. Lucia. Located some two hours drive north in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park – a recently declared World Heritage Site, St. Lucia Estuary offers several options for a river cruise up the estuary, which provide excellent viewing and photo opportunities of the resident bird life, Hippo’s and crocodiles. Of course my ulterior motive was to continue test-driving the Viano.

TRANSPORT

The five-speed ‘Tipshift’ automatic transmission that comes standard in the Viano model is an absolute pleasure in traffic congestion and on the open road, as the gears shift with timeous precision and respond to provide appropriate torque when ascending hills or overtaking slow moving traffic. Apparently, towing is as easy. The AMBIENTE comes fitted with a tow hitch and can tow a 2,000 kg braked trailer or a 750 kg unbraked trailer – made easier by the adjustable self-levelling rear suspension. The stretch of road between Empangeni and St. Lucia has a notoriously bad reputation for accidents but knowing that the Viano comes standard with two front head-on and side airbags along with advanced electronic stability program (ADAPTIVE ESP), traction control (ASR), anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brake-force distribution (EBV) and brake assist (BAS) provides ample safety reassurance despite the many acronyms. Each of the seven seats are also fitted with three-point seatbelts and adjustable head restraints, which in the event of an

accident should avoid overly inflated personal injury liability claims, assuming of course that South Africa’s compulsory Road Accident Fund does not provide adequate compensation – but that’s another story altogether. Considering the spacious size of the vehicle I thought that the fuel consumption during my trip was impressive at an average of 8.9 l / 100 km, although watching the on-board computers’ fuel consumption readings, this did vary according to the speed and gear selection at the time. Overall, I was very impressed with the Viano but wondered what the vehicle’s CO2 emissions were rated at, so I looked it up on www.nextgreencar.com – an organisation that analyses vehicle emissions and rates them from 0 (cleanest) to 100 (dirtiest), which shows the 3.0CDI Diesel at a rating of 64 – that’s 226 g/km in vehicle tail pipe emission – not quite ‘green’ but certainly better than other vehicles of its type. 1/2012

SATSA / RETOSA Tourism Tattler Trade Journal