Tourism Tattler June 2013 by Tourism Tattler

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Contents

Competition: 10 x Wine Tourism Books

Issue 6 (June) 2013 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)87 727 8631 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)87 727 8643 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 Official Media Partner to:

Business: Bribery Bill

Conservation: Wildspotting Online

Marketing: Email Marketing

Environment: Access to climate finance

Niche Tourism: Red-tape Tourism

IN THIS ISSUE

Official Travel Trade Journal of:

The Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA) Tel: +2711 315 2420/1 Fax: +2711 315 2422 Webite: www.retosa.co.za

The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) Tel: +2786 127 2872 Fax: +2711 886 755 Webite: www.satsa.com

National Accommodation Association of South Africa (NAA-SA) Tel: +2786 186 2272 Fax: +2786 225 9858 Website: www.naa-sa.co.za

Seychelles Hospitality & Tourism Association Tel: +248 432 5560 Fax: +248 422 5718 Website: www.shta.sc

SATSA PROUD SPONSOR

05 06 07 08 10 12 14 17 18 20

EDITORIAL From the Editors Desk / Cover Story Article Discussions ACHIEVEMENTS & ACCOLADES Trade Awards - visit our website AVIATION Airlines & Tourism in SA BUSINESS The two faces of SA’s economy The Big Business Bribery Bill CONSERVATION Wildspotting Online Rhino Knights Update COMPETITION Wine Tourism South Africa DESTINATIONS Visa requirements EVENTS RETOSA Events Calendar for June

Adv. Louis Nel Brent Willie Des Langkilde Isabel Wolf-Gillespie 02 04 04 04 04

ENVIRONMENT 21 Access to climate finance HOSPITALITY 22 Hotels financial balancing act 23 Putting bums in beds LEGAL 24 ‘POPI’ Act - Part 2 MARKETING 25 SATSA Market Intelligence Report 26 Email Marketing - Part 2 NICHE TOURISM 28 Red-tape Tourism RISK 30 Travel trade insurance - Part 7 TRADE NEWS Trade Snippets - visit our website

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Ivo Vegter Martin Jansen van Vuuren Janine Mare Martin Hatchuel Loane Sharp Pieter Philipse Marjorie Dean MAGAZINE SPONSORS 04 BnB Sure 24 Savage Jooste & Adams Attorneys 27 Kondwana Marketing 29 SATIB Insurance Brokers 32 TransMedia Barter

SATIB Insurance Brokers Globe Lotter Tours Neil’s Transfers Heritage Clothing Sports & Events Tourism Exchange

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.

JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

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• Email: bev@tourismtattler.co.za • Skype: bevtourismtattler

EDITORIAL

From the Editor’s Desk Well, Indaba is behind us for another year, so now it’s back to work, and running our tourism businesses. And the daily work of running a business features large in this edition. This is not the glamorous side of tourism that our clients see, but it’s the essential stuff that keeps our industry running. On pages 8-9, Loane Sharp looks at the economy of South Africa – whatever else may happen we still have to operate in this environment, and, Loane says, public/private partnerships are increasingly the way to go. We also tackle the vexed question of red tape in business – a bugbear to anyone who actually runs an entrepreneurial enterprise See what well known columnist Ivo Vegter has to say about that on page 28.

We look at an intriguing new way of capturing data about wildlife on pages 12-13. And hear about progress from the Rhino Knights initiative – just one of many imaginative initiatives being undertaken in the cause of helping to stop the slaughter of one major species. Brent Willie looks at the vexed question of visas – another stumbling block to the expansion of African tourism on pages 18-19. And we consider a recent report on access to finance for improving our efforts to comply with ever stricter new climatefriendly regulations, as well as what is happening in the hotel business that is eroding margins. And we consider a new way to put ‘bums in beds’. There are our usual features on marketing and insurance, so plenty of real meat in this Tourism Tattler to keep you reading! Marjorie

Cover Story Whither Atrophy? The Greek philosopher Herakleitos (Heraclitus) of Ephesus foresaw the future when he said “The Only Constant In Life Is Change.” Without change all things wither into a state of what the Greeks called ‘atrophy’, or withering away. At Tourism Tattler, change has certainly avoided atrophy. We have come a long way since the media title’s humble beginnings in the 1990’s as an internal newsletter for SATSA members. Back then, the Tattler consisted of just 12 pages, in single colour, and a quarterly print run of under 1,000 copies. In 2003, Tourism Tattler was registered as a publishing company with the aim of growing the magazine’s circulation to a broader travel trade audience with more in-depth and relevant editorial content. It became a glossy journal, still covering SATSA’s affairs, although that role became more the domain of the weekly, and latterly fortnightly, SATSA RAP newsletter. Tattler became more representative of the broader African travel trade industry, encompassing other travel trade organisations such as RETOSA, NAA-SA and SHTA, who adopted the media title as their official trade journal, with more associations coming onboard soon. With the advent of digital publishing, the Tattler’s reach has spread throughout Africa and globally, where the publication is valued as an information and knowledge resource for tourism professionals. The Tattler now has over 28,000 subscribers located in every continent in the world and in 34 of Africa’s 55 countries (AU member states).

Readership exceeds 30,000 with social media linkages accounting for the difference. In terms of subscriber profiling by travel trade sectors, 43% are DMC (Tour Brokers, Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Adventure Operators, Transport Operators), 38% Accommodation (Hotels, Lodges, Guesthouses, Attractions) and 19% are in the Travel Trade Service provider category. With global readership, language preferences became a priority, but with the introduction of the journal’s content being published as blog-style articles on the Tattler website since November 2012, Google Translate has overcome the language barrier. It’s interesting to note that of our Africa-based subscribers, 46% are English, 19% French, 7% Arabic and 5% Portuguese speaking. Over the next few months, readers will see the Tattler evolve yet again to better reflect the media title’s change from magazine publishing to content management and distribution. New innovations to be launched include; Mobi Apps, a searchable travel trade directory with Google Maps integration, a PR selfupload feature for Trade News and Accolades, an Affiliate Referral Programme and Email Marketing Services. The next phase in our evolution will include an online travel community network, aimed at profiling Africa’s wealth of tourism products, facilities and attractions to both inbound and domestic travellers alike. We look forward to sharing these innovations, which are aimed at growing Africa’s tourism industry and enhancing your businesses marketing efforts. JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

ARTICLE DISCUSSIONS

Discussion Forum Article Comments - May CONSERVATION

How to contribute to article discussions On the Tourism Tattler website, click on the Article Discussion icon located above the ‘Share’ bar beneath each article - this will open the discussion page in a new browser tab.

Rhino poaching - to Breed, to Dehorn or to Poison? I have spent many moons applying my mind as an anthropologist and conservationist to this (rhino horn) debate. Furthermore, the Protrade fraternity is very well organised and have presented many wellresearched and convincing arguments to support their stance. We at Transfrontier Africa have sat back and evaluated every article and motivation from this arena. Herewith my opinion: We are talking about a typical supply-and-demand scenario when discussing trading in rhino horn. There are a few facts that must be borne in mind: 1. We already trade in rhino horn (albeit illegal and via poaching) - as much as five per day. 2. New end-user markets have developed - thereby increasing the demand on a daily basis. 3. This is not just about CTM (Chinese Traditional Medicine) as was originally thought. it has become a status symbol in Vietnam and China to have an ornamental horn on display. 4. Experiments in 1994 to introduce the Saiga Antelope horn as an alternative to rhino horn and accepted by the CTM Council. The species was reported to number almost 2.5 million. In the ensuing years, that population dwindled by 95% due to hunting pressure for their horns. Do we have that quantity of rhino?

Or simply comment beneath the website article. cognisant of the flaws in the structure of our society as well as that of our government. Craig Spencer - BWANA The following are just a few of the comments made beneath certain articles posted on the Tattler website during the month of May: TRADE NEWS Gauteng’s Winter Wine Fest gears up for July Your on line magazine is fantastic, informative and so interesting. Thank you so much, I can’t wait to plan my next trip. Dianne CONSERVATION A Rhino Knight’s Tale

5. From the above example, the market is not only vastly bigger than the early 1990’s, but new end-users have begun to develop, making the sustainable use of rhino horn an impossibility.

Dear Lloyd & Isabel. Your Rhino Knights and Earth Awareness campaigns are truly inspiring! I would love to make a donation but I can’t do that by text message. Can I make a contribution on your website or using paypal? Please let me know the best way.

(Note: To read all 14 points made by Craig in this comment, visit the article at: www.tourismtattler.co.za/?p=3725 - Editor).

Peace, happiness and good fortune be with you for your epic journey and always!

It is therefore our opinion (mine and that of Transfrontier Africa) that the trade in rhino horn is both unethical (from a social and economic perspective) and unjustifiable. As conservationists, we must be

Nick Bodie (Note: Donations by various methods in support of the Rhino Knights campaign can be made at www.earthawareness.co.za - Editor).

Wi n

The winning comment posted on the Tattler website during the month of May 2013 will receive a GOVINO CHAMPAGNE 4 PACK – Valued at R154 with the compliments of Livingstones Supply Co – Suppliers of the Finest Products to the Hospitality Industry. An alternative to Stainless Steel game drive cups, the very green and award winning Californian designed Govino Champagne glasses allow you to enjoy fine wine in settings where breakable glass is as no-no or fine stemware is not available. Reuse it, abuse it, but eventually recycle it! Govino is equal to the quality of imported German wine glasses and are made from PETg so they’re unbreakable and 100% recyclable. Govino Champagne Glasses are ideal for Game Drives, Beach Weddings, Picnics, Pool Areas and All For more information visit: outdoor events. www.livingstonessupplyco.co.za

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JUNE 2013

Congratulations to Craig Spencer Your comment has been chosen as the prize winner for May. A copy of Dereck and Beverly Joubert’s ‘Eye of the Leopard’ DVD will be delivered to you with the compliments of Livingstones Supply Co – suppliers of the finest products to the hospitality Industry. Editor.

AVIATION

Airlines and Tourism in Southern Africa - cleared for takeoff? Working in isolation as competitors, the airline industry and hence tourist arrival figures to the Southern Africa region are doomed to fail, writes Martin Hatchuel. I attended the Hotel Investment Conference Africa (HICA 2013), which was convened at the Elengeni Hotel in Durban from 8 to 10 May, and looking at the programme I noticed that one of the panel discussions was called ‘Hard talk between airlines, tour operators, and hoteliers - What needs to be done to generate the required numbers of tourist to visit the region – address issues such as seasonality, geographic spread, increasing the tourist’s average length of stay and spend.’ So the prospectus description reads. I thought the premise of the question was wrong, so I asked Michael Tollman, executive chairman and CEO of Cullinan Holdings, whether we shouldn’t rather be looking at what visitors want, and then working towards delivering on that? Surely we should consider demand, rather than what we want?

fare in business class. A fare of £ 427.75 was available in economy); • London/Miami/London (9 hours 5 minutes): Business class £3,150.75; Economy class £854.75 (the cheapest possible fare in business class was £2,821.75, and in economy: £572.75); • London/Sydney/London (22 hours 55 minutes): Business class £4,877.85; Economy class £1,297.85 (the cheapest possible fare in business class was £4,054.85, and in economy: £970.85) • London/Johannesburg/London (10 hours 45 minutes): Business class £5,323.85; Economy class £873.85 (the cheapest possible fare in business class was £5,125.85, and in economy: £873.85). £5,323.85 from London to Johannesburg? It shouldn’t be like that. “You can’t successfully set prices in isolation,” said Michael.

The most helpful way to answer me, he said, was to look at the problem from a global perspective. Southern Africa is just one destination, and it’s competing against many other major markets in which pricing and products are more competitive.

“Travel and hospitality are like any other business – to be perceived as offering value you have to pitch your prices in line with what’s being charged in other markets.”

“We should be doing more to assess the trends in travel, and working together to grow the business. Look at Egypt before its current political problems: its tourism industry pulled together and their arrivals grew from almost nothing to 16 million a year. Southern Africa should be getting those numbers. This is a beautiful country with fantastic infrastructure” said Tollman.

This isn’t the only reason South Africa’s lagging behind, he said: there’s also the generally accepted perception about crime (and, I’d suggest, the way we report about it. But that’s another discussion.)

Too expensive Michael is a director of various companies that have interests in hotels, cruising, coach touring, tour operations, and more, and he said that their experience is that people want value and service. “South Africa is expensive if you compare the price per mile or per hour against other long-haul destinations.” He wanted to illustrate his point, so he got quotes for return flights on a given day in May for both business and economy class travellers from London to New York, Miami, Sydney, or Johannesburg. (“Business class tourists are of particular interest because they spend more.”) “It takes 22 hours 55 to fly from the UK to Sydney, and 10 hours 45 to Johannesburg – but even though it’s more than double the flying time, the flight to Sydney was 9% less expensive than the flight to Johannesburg. “And whilst it takes almost the same amount of time to Miami or Johannesburg, business class to Johannesburg is 69% more expensive than business class to Miami.” The actual quotes? • London/New York/London (7 hours 30 minutes): Business class £2,504.75; Economy class £773.75 (this was the lowest possible

Other reasons why SA lags

“I don’t believe crime should be an issue when it comes to tourism because if you look at the data, the number of crimes against tourists is negligible: crime generally doesn’t happen in the places where tourism takes place.” Also, he said, visas are a challenge – and here I laughed because I’d recently idled through the back pages of The GSA, and read the visa requirements of the various countries, and shook my head at all the hoops they expect you to jump through before they’ll deign to allow you to visit. “It’s almost as though they don’t want tourists,” I said. Michael agreed. “It would be good to achieve a uni-visa for all Southern African countries, including Mauritius.” In the end, though, he came back to that simplest and most difficult of business basics: value. “Tour operators, airlines, and hotels – it’s important that we all work together to give value to our customers. If they leave and we’ve exceeded their expectations, they’ll come back, and they’ll send their friends.” Marc Cavaliere, Head of Global Sales Development at South African Airways, delivered a presentation titled ‘Airlift & Air Access’ which describes the current state of affairs in the Sub Saharan Market and the airlines focus on tourism. The presentation can be downloaded at www.tourismtattler.co.za/downloads/Airlift-and-Air-Access-in-subSaharan-Africa.pdf This article was originally published as a blog on behalf of the TBCSA. For more insights from Martin Hatchuel visit www.thistourismweek.co.za JUNE 2013

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BUSINESS

The two faces of SA’s economy

The Global Competitiveness Report 2012/2013 tells the story. In the public sector our competitiveness has declined significantly. Individuals and institutions are infected by a general malaise of corruption, incompetence and ideological bankruptcy, writes Loane Sharp. The private sector, by contrast, has improved its competitiveness. It is vibrant, innovative and increasingly competitive, and can stand up to comparison with any country in the world. The World Economic Forum – the Swiss non-profit foundation funded by the world’s largest 1000 multinational business enterprises – produces the annual Global Competitiveness Report. A country’s ranking is based on 111 dimensions ranging from property rights to innovation and tax rates. South Africa ranks 52nd out of 144 countries. It is possible to split these dimensions between the private sector (such as the quality of professional management and the availability of financial services) and the public sector (such as the quality of public infrastructure and the reliability of police services). The private sector in South Africa is ranked 34th in the world (alongside Chile) whereas the public sector is ranked 80th in the world (alongside Guatemala). SA’s private sector is in its best shape ever. The proportion of national income attributable to private business enterprises (including the largest category, sole proprietors) has increased from 39 percent in 2000 to 51 percent in 2012. The real, risk-adjusted return on capital of South African listed businesses is currently 10 percent – the highest in the world and twice as high as the five percent achieved in apartheid-era South Africa. In some notable areas – including accounting standards, corporate board effectiveness, securities exchanges, financial rights, soundness of banks and access to credit – South Africa ranks the very highest (#1) in the world. For black South Africans employed in the private sector, incomes are rising by 11 percent per annum, nearly treble the four percent increase for whites, and racial disparities between wage-earners are likely to disappear within a decade. Excellent tertiary education options in the private sector, particularly in Gauteng, have created a class of black commerce and finance graduates who, within a few short years, will transform the management of South African enterprises. As the latest census shows, a substantial number of young Africans are no longer becoming teachers and nurses, but rather accountants and business managers. In response to high income tax rates, and restrictive labour laws, many South African small businesses are re-forming themselves in 08

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the informal sector, where they don’t comply with labour laws or pay income taxes. According to Adcorp’s calculations, South Africa’s true unemployment rate is around nine percent, not 25 percent as Statistics SA would have us believe, because an estimated 4.2-million more people are involved in the informal sector than the official figures suggest. SA’s public sector, by contrast, is in an advanced state of collapse. Private alternatives are springing up all over the place in response to government incompetence. There are more private security guards (421 000) than police officers (151 000). Government school enrolments fell five percent in 2012, whereas low-fee private school enrolments grew 23 percent. Judges complain that the most interesting commercial cases now go to private arbitration, side-stepping the courts altogether. Private hospitals, possessing only 12 percent of the country’s bed-nights, treat 35 percent of all “belly buttons” each year. Eschewing the country’s highly restrictive labour laws and regulations, businesses now employ 36 percent fewer workers to perform a given unit of work than they did in 1990. South Africa’s public sector ranks notably poorly in such areas as labour hostility (144th out of 144 countries); crime and violence (134th); primary education (132nd); regulatory burden (123rd); organized crime (111th); nepotism by government officials (110th); electricity supply (94th); and reliability of police (90th). Even that paragon of administrative efficiency, the South African Revenue Service (SARS), was so aggressive in collecting income taxes between 2006 and 2011 that it drove 440 000 small businesses into the informal sector. At present, 1.7 percent of taxpayers account for 24.3 percent of tax revenues – and 4.5 percent of taxpayers account for nearly 40 percent of tax revenues. The “one percent” in South Africa shoulders the highest incidence of income tax in the world. Just one evil: Unemployment Perhaps the greatest government failure has been in the area of unemployment. Government officials have recently started pointing to the “triple evils” of poverty, inequality and unemployment. In reality, there is just one evil: poverty and inequality reduced, essentially, to the problem of unemployment; poor people do not have jobs, and inequality between those who have formal sector jobs is comparatively small.

BUSINESS

For example, South Africa’s Gini coefficient is 0.63 (i.e. very high inequality) when measured using income. When measured using consumption, the Gini coefficient is smaller, because government reduces inequality by taxing middle- and high-income individuals and making transfers to the poor, including the provision of free or lowcost public services. South Africa’s Gini coefficient is 0.58 when adjustments are made for social grant income (i.e. old age pensions, disability grants, family and other allowances, workmen’s compensation claims, alimony and other income from individuals). South Africa’s Gini falls further, to 0.54, when adjustments are made for free water, sanitation, electricity and other free public services. Finally, the Gini falls to 0.52 when adjustments are made for direct personal income tax. While this Gini coefficient is still relatively high and difficult to compare to other countries, it clearly indicates that true inequality in South Africa is much lower than is generally reported, for the reason that the impact of government social policies on inequality is substantial. Private/Public co-existence?

Households have succeeded in hiding from the tax authorities around one-half of their incomes, a figure that hasn’t changed appreciably over the past 50 years. Conclusion There is a great deal of good news about the country, very nearly all of it from the private sector. A sure-fire recipe for low-stress living is to cancel the newspaper, switch off the SABC, and spend more time trying to understand, and debate, the truth of this beloved country of ours. Loane Sharp is the Labour Economist at Adcorp. www.adcorp.co.za

How to get more German Tourists to SA Tourism Tattler represents FVW Mediengruppe as their advertising agent for the SA region.

It is highly unlikely that these two sets of circumstances – a prospering private sector and a predatory public sector – can co-exist for long. What we are no doubt observing is the “hollowing-out” of the state, where only empty symbols of public service remain – generously paid civil servants who lack accountability and are concerned more with trade union appeasement than service delivery.

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Public services such as education, health, security and infrastructure will have to be provided by the private sector, and the remaining public services – border controls, vehicle licensing, tax collection and the like – will remain what they are now fast becoming, namely opportunities for petty bribes.

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South Africans are responding to these forces in rational ways. For example, growing numbers of people have started under-reporting their incomes to the authorities for the purpose of income tax evasion. As a whole, 4.5-million people report to Statistics SA enumerators that they earn income in the taxable range, whereas 6.2-million are actually paying income tax to SARS – an undercount by Statistics SA of 27 percent. Or, stated differently, the average taxpayer income is R266 641 per annum according to SARS and R193 325 per annum according to Stats SA – an undercount of 28 percent.

TRAVEL TALK MAGAZINE - www.TravelTalk.de A weekly magazine for travel agents in Germany. TravelTalk.de is the network for travel sales staff. This is where about 14,000 German travel agents discuss latest industry news and exchange knowhow. Distribution: 31 020 Contact: Beverley Langkilde Tel: +27 (0)87 727 8634 Cell: +27 (0)71 224 9971 Email: bev@tourismtattler.co.za

Ever entrepreneurial, South Africans are finding interesting ways to “jive” the tax system. According to our calculations, the authorities are only collecting two-thirds of the income taxes owing to them. JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

BUSINESS

The Big Business Bribery Bill For the first time since the end of Apartheid, businesses will have to ask the government’s permission to operate. The wealthy elite can thank Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies for a new age of protectionism. The poor can thank him for a new age of oppression, exclusion, corruption and unemployment, writes Ivo Vegter. The reaction to the Licensing of Business Bill, gazetted by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies gave the public only 30 days to become aware of this monstrosity and file comment. The draft is dated 18 March 2013, so by now, as the mafia would say, we’re shit outta luck. So, here’s how the New New South Africa is going to work. Unlike the Old New South Africa, in which citizens for the first time tasted the fruits of freedom, it will be more like the Bad Old South Africa, in which government bureaucrats had the power to inspect the books, search the premises, shake down the owners and shut up the shops of “undesirable elements”. You see, in 1991, in the early stages of the negotiations that led to the liberation of South Africa and the peaceful transition to freedom and democracy, a law was passed that abolished the Apartheid rules that required all businesses to seek government permits to operate.

bureaucrats, and ultimately, jail time of up to 10 years for conducting an unlicensed business. Violations for which licenses may be denied, suspended or revoked range from relatively serious offences, such as causing riots or selling stolen property (including intellectual property such as branded clothing or entertainment), to the sort of bureaucratic laws that almost everyone, at some point, falls foul of, such as employing illegal immigrants or violating tax law. All are already illegal, under existing law. Not daunted by the administrative failures at the former Cipro, now known as the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, the Bill calls for an elaborate and expensive new register of all businesses to be maintained, containing full particulars of even the rats and mice. Inspection

Almost everyone with a government job title and a uniform is deemed The government of Verwoerd, Vorster and Botha used those laws to raise to be an “inspector” under this law, from customs officials and police the barriers and costs for new entrants into the officers, to health and safety inspectors, and market, to curb the growth of the informal and even traffic cops. Additional inspectors can be “You do not examine legislation appointed by the minister, should this army not small business sector, to limit where businesses where allowed to trade and what they were in the light of the benefits it will suffice. allowed to trade in, to harass those of whom convey if properly administered, These inspectors will have wide-ranging powers. the government did not approve, and ultimately, but in the light of the wrongs Armed only with the “reasonable suspicion” to enforce the racist segregation policies that it would do and the harms that “a business is being conducted”, they will benefited white, and particularly Afrikaans, have the right to enter and search premises, business at the expense of the majority. it would cause if improperly investigate complaints, question anybody on Business Act of 1991 administered.” the premises, confiscate goods (they “may” The law that liberated South African business issue a receipt), summon business owners to US President Lyndon B Johnson was crafted by the Law Review Project and was appear before them, and shut down premises known as the Business Act of 1991. For the first temporarily or permanently. time, blacks were freely permitted to enter into business, and companies Of course, the Bill claims that all this is done to “promote the right to across the board were relieved of their bureaucratic straitjackets. Laws freedom of trade, occupation and profession and any rights contained in such as these were responsible, during the first decade of democracy, for the Constitution,” and to combat illegal activities. Another purpose is to South Africa’s rapid rise up the world rankings on personal, political and prevent illegal immigrants from being able to work or conduct business economic freedom. However, that rise has stalled and reversed. On all the in South Africa, and to combat the sale of counterfeit merchandise and major indices of freedom, kept by such august bodies as Freedom House, other unlawful products. the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, the Institute for Property Potential harms Rights, and Transparency International, South Africa has been sinking like Here are just some of the harms the Licensing of Businesses Bill would a stone in the most recent decade. cause. Mr Davies, it appears, is intent on completing the reversal to Apartheidstyle government control over the entire economy. His draft Bill, published It would vastly expand the potential for bribery and corruption. If I were with the approval of Cabinet, will repeal the Business Act of 1991 in its an official with a penchant for lining my own pockets, I’d call this the Christmas Box Bill. entirety, along with all associated proclamations and regulations. In its stead, everyone who proposes to do business of any sort, even if The provisions are so broad and vague, and the recourse for company it is only to hawk home-grown mielies at a taxi rank, will have to ask owners so onerous and time-consuming, that all you have to do to the government for permission. A license will be subject to a fee, yet land a generous pay-off, even from a perfectly legitimate business, is to be determined, administrative penalties subject to the discretion of issue a threat. There is no check on your power to summon someone 10

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to your office, or turn up at their office with a squad of goons and a threat to search the premises, seize records and warehouse stock, interview disgruntled employees, or shut down the business while you “investigate” a “complaint”.

appropriate linkages to the domestic economy will be critical in boosting growth and employment, with small and medium-sized firms the main employment creators.”

Not if Rob Davies gets his way. The Licensing of Businesses Bill must be fought, and it must be defeated. People who trade in illegal merchandise, violate municipal by-laws and zoning regulations, or employ illegal Even if all the inspectors – that is, all the police, traffic officers, customs immigrants, can already be prosecuted under existing law. Sad to say, this onerous new Bill will join a growing list of agents and sundry other civil servants – are repressive and regressive law proposed by a public-spirited souls who are as honest as the A new Bill, which merely raises the ruling party that once fought for our freedom. day is long, the Bill can be abused in a myriad But the impact will be much broader than just making corruption child’s play.

of ways. Big business benefits Established businesses can and will use it as a sledgehammer against competitors, and especially against upstart competitors who haven’t yet learnt how to navigate the maze of red tape, or can’t afford entire “compliance departments” to manage the bureaucracy. In fact, expect big business to back Davies and to support this Bill. After all, they can afford the cost of bureaucracy, and benefit from hurdles for their competition.

burden on doing business further, will force many companies to shut down even if their operations are perfectly legitimate. Especially in the informal sector, expect owners to seek corporate employment, and employees to be out on the street. In the name of law and order, this Bill will condemn thousands, if not millions, of South Africans to unemployment and poverty.

So if they do support it, don’t for a moment believe it will be good for any business other than their own, or that their motive is anything other than a venal desire to hurt competitors and kowtow to the bureaucrats who award them their tenders. There’s nothing wholesome about the cosy alliance between government officials and their business cronies, so it is unwise to take the cronies’ word for the desirability of a Big Brother law. Besides competitors, this law will be useful to assorted racists, xenophobics and moralising Mother Grundys, who can all use it to shut down shops and traders of which they disapprove, on the flimsiest and most self-serving of grounds. Expect it to be war, especially at the smallbusiness end of the market, where three-quarters of all hiring and half of all turnover takes place. The cost of it alll In the sluggish economic climate of today, it is already a scary prospect to risk your career and savings on starting a new business, in large part because of the bureaucracy associated with it. According to the SME Growth Index, a third of all small businesses reported that their survival has been threatened in the last year. It estimates that the cost of red tape is on average about 4% of turnover, which, at the margin, is more than enough to turn tentative profitability into certain bankruptcy for a small business. It also notes that it hits small firms more than twice as hard as big companies. “Red tape is thus particularly regressive and hurts those firms that are most vulnerable the most,” the report’s authors write. Three-quarters of surveyed businesses said it has become more difficult for them to do business over the last year, and while they cited numerous reasons, more than one in five pointed to red tape, regulation and the cost of doing business as impediments to growth. We can’t eat platitudes, and when faced with fines and even 10-year jail terms for not asking permission to make a living, sweet-sounding words are no consolation. The NBP’s view The National Development Plan has this to say about small business: “Some 90% of jobs will be created in small and expanding firms. The economy will be more enabling of business entry and expansion, with an eye to credit and market access. By 2030, the share of small- and medium-sized firms in output will grow substantially. Regulatory reform and support will boost mass entrepreneurship. Export growth, with

Twenty years ago, a new, free South Africa dawned. Perhaps it was too much to expect daylight to last forever. So before my publican gets shaken down and closes up shop, I’m off to the pub for some sundowners! Published with acknowledgement to the Daily Maverick - www.dailymaverick.co.za About the Author: Ivo Vegter is a columnist and the author of Extreme Environment, a book on environmental exaggeration and how it harms emerging economies. His book can be purchased at www.exclus1ves.co.za

More on the Business Licensing Bill The Helen Suzman Foundation had this to say about the Business Licensing Bill (excerpt extracted from www.hsf.org.za dated 09 May 2013) - Editor.. Objections The Mises Institute of South Africa: • the use of the Constitution to justify the Bill is invalid as it does not authorise the State to require peaceful individuals to have permission to engage in voluntary exchange in any clause; • the power of inspectors may lead to an increase in corrupt practices as there are no regulations on this power given to inspectors. • hawkers could face an astonishing punishment for doing business. State reaction According to Lionel October, Director General of the DTI, advantages of this Billl are: • by registering, informal sector traders would also be able to get onto a database which would allow them to gain access to government support programmes; • registration of informal businesses would help the Department to target support at such businesses; • the Bill would also help the government to crack down on traders selling items such as pirated DVDs; • that businesses such as bars, taverns or restaurants already in possession of the necessary licence needed to operate, would be exempt; • that the granting of licences will ensure greater security to operate a business. Private sector reaction Business Unity SA (www.busa.org.za) believes that the Bill will unintentionally impede the growth and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and further harm a sector with an already high business failure rate. This is also worrying considering that most economists see SMEs as being the engines of growth in developing economies. The Bill contradicts the National Development Plan (NDP), which sees 90 percent of all jobs by 2030 derived from the small enterprises sector. JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

CONSERVATION

Recording Wildlife Spotting Online Three enterprising conservationists have developed a website to track and record the migration and distribution of individual animal, bird and insect species and are appealing to game reserves, wildlife conservancies, NGOs and tourists alike to share their sightings in a national database, writes Des Langkilde. The origins of Wildspots.org were forged over a decade ago when Wally Petersen, founder of the Kommetjie Environmental Awareness Group, started mapping species localities on the southern Cape Peninsula. Over the years this grew into a useful database and soon interesting trends appeared on the migration and distribution of individual species. The database was extended with Wallyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s travels around southern Africa and Madagascar. In particular studies were done on the large numbers of animals killed on the roads. Two close friends from the eco-tourism and wildlife hospitality industries, Russ Weston of Greenlife Africa and Jurie Moolman of Djuma Game Reserve, saw the huge value in the many significant observations and in 2012 the three of them planned and developed a user-friendly recording system. www.wildspots.org. In a very short period of time Wildspots rapidly grew to encompass over 7 000 records comprising over 800 unique species. These include records from Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Mozambique and Madagascar. Wildspots is a non-commercial, free website and the information is freely available to everyone working in the biodiversity field. Wildspots records are contributed to the ADU and Mammal Map databases. About the founders Russ Weston is a nature ambassador, family man, humanitarian and free spirit who was a foremost pioneer of experiential travel in 12

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JUNE 2013

Southern Africa. Before starting Greenlife in 1992, Russ spent time as a research assistant and specialist nature guide leading expeditions throughout Southern Africa. Jurie Moolman is a hospitality provider and owner of Djuma Game Reserve - a 9,000 ha private game reserve which forms part of the Sabi Sands Private Nature Reserve and the Greater Kruger National Park. He is also involved in breeding rare and endangered animals at his 35, 000 ha Thaba Tholo facility near Thabazimbi. Wally Petersen says that they can offer a special company membership badge to those members and websites that promote Wildspots to their guests. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We plan to add more components and specify categories such as marine life to Wildspots soon. We need experts to assist us with identification and systems to categorize the wealth of biodiversity appeal to the travel industry, specifically guesthouses, safari camps and country estates, to come on board in the various areas. We also appeal for local experts to adopt specific areas to help us qualify records.â&#x20AC;?

CONSERVATION

Citizen Science

Timeline Map

The Wildspots system provides excellent tools for specific research projects for closed and public collaboration logging.

Users can explore wildlife records on a map and adjust the time range of when these records where seen. The map can also be adjusted to only show species of particular interest.

The aim is to focus primarily in the educational field and the founders hope to take Wildspots to over a thousand schools throughout southern Africa, particularly those in the rural areas where biodiversity information would be particularly valuable. “We believe that young wildlife observers will have a better chance of becoming young conservationists. The power of observation can never be underestimated. There is a growing global trend that recognizes the value of Citizen Science” says Petersen. “The tourism industry can make a huge contribution as the website provides great opportunity for tourists to make a meaningful contribution by logging species they encounter during their safari activities. By observing and recording the wildlife sightings around them, the visitors experience will be enhanced” adds Petersen.

Records The most recent or all wildlife records can be filtered by species (Mammal, Reptile, Bird, etc), with or without a photo as well as adjust the time range. Photos Species identification is enhanced through a Wikipedia link for information and photos of animals. In addition, an Animal Wiki database of animal species that contains basic information such as common and scientific names, distribution maps and photos is integrated into the website. Groups This screenshot off the Wildspots website shows an example of a record and its interactive features.

Each facility can set up their own unique focus area to map and record species sightings with the greatest of ease. Guests will have a personal record of their visit with great features including wildlife checklists, location maps and field notes. Property owners have tools on Wildspots to accurately define their reserve boundaries and invite contributors and members. Website features Record A Record represents a wildlife sighting that has been captured on Wildspots.org - at its most basic, it includes the species of animal seen, the date and the geographical position, assisted with Google Maps. In addition, the Record can include a specific time, field notes and a photo. Start recording your wildlife sightings and let your rangers and guests document their encounters on unique personal and collaborative maps. MobiApp A Mobile Application has been developed to capture wildlife sightings from Android smartphones or tablet devices while out of Internet and cellphone range. The MobiApp will store the users records and publish them to wildspots.org when back in wifi or signal range. These basic records are available for editing, verification and adding field notes and images at a later stage. To date Wildspots contributors have recorded over 755 unique species of animal. These include: • 6739 Wildlife Records (2563 photos spotted by 156 contributors)

Allows users with a shared wildlife interest to form a Group and contribute records to the Group - much like a Facebook or LinkedIn Group.

Users can easily create their own Group or join an existing Group that focusses on a specific geographic area, wildlife category or species. All members will have access to collaborative records, which can be kept private or shared. Add your Game Reserve Wildspots Areas allows users to explore areas around South Africa and get an insight about what wildlife is being spotted there. This tool builds dynamic checklists for the area. The data is then available for download in an Excel file format. Wildspots For You Let’s all collaborate and enjoy our wildlife legacy. Wildspots is a free service for your unlimited use. It will soon become a major educational tool as the founders team up with travel networks, eco schools and field guide training faculties. Assist in creating an audit of South Africa’s wildlife heritage, noting the existence of species and affording them the recognition and protection they deserve. We invite sponsors and partners to assist us with growing this initiative from the grassroots upwards. For more information contact Wally Petersen on wildspotsorg@gmail. com or visit www.wildspots.org The image below of a Water Monitor (Varanus niloticus) sighting on the author’s eco estate property in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal was loaded onto the Wildspots website. It just goes to show that even amateurs can contribute to the database.

• 4205 Birds (485 species) • 1799 Mammals (110 species) • 411 Reptiles (92 species) • 180 Amphibians (34 species) • 81 Others (29 species) • 63 Insects (57 species)

JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

CONSERVATION

Rhino Knights Update Following our article published in the May edition (‘A Rhino Knight’s Tale’), Isabel Wolf-Gillespie reports on her progress since departing on her arduous 10,000km journey to raise awareness of the plight of Africa’s dwindling rhino population.

▲ This picture was taken at Nelson Metropolitan University, Saasveld campus where we met John Lucas, the founder of Explore 4 Knowledge - education through adventure. Pictured from left to right are Lloyd Gillespie, John Lucas, Isabel Wolf-Gillespie and Raphaela Wolf.

Wow, what an amazing time we have had since leaving Durban on May 01.

to recuperate strength and energy, and to catch up on all media and communication.

Heading out from Kainon School in Westville with a huge crowd gathered to wish us well was overwhelming to say the least. The last six months of preparation have been hectic and when the day of departure finally came, emotions were flooding over. Happiness, relief and a fair dose of some anxiety!

As part of the awareness campaign we have been conducting a research questionnaire asking conservation organizations, individuals, reserves, environmental science students, etc what they believe are the problems with the poaching crisis and what possible solutions are. This has been a complete eye opener for all of us and the more questionnaires are being filled out, the more we realize the value of it. After the completion of the campaign we will evaluate this and get involved in active anti-poaching measures.

The route over the first week has taken us from Durban to Richmond, through the Coleford Reserve and to Underberg where we spent a wonderful time with great friends! In Underberg the freezing cold arrived and did not abate until we reached Cradock. Waking up after a night in the tent with frost all around makes getting changed a rather challenging and funny undertaking… Whilst trying to put my one foot through tight leggings, balancing on the other foot to avoid the freezing ground with my bare toes was reason for hysterical laughter more than once. To cycle in cold conditions is difficult, my chest gets tight and muscles become cold very quickly. It is hard to decide whether to wear another layer or not, when pedaling uphill you start to sweat but going downhill the extra layer is more than welcome and needed! I have never been one for the cold and this has been the biggest challenge for me on this stretch. The physical exercise and demand on my body has been manageable, and so far I am coping well. Travelling through Matatiele and Mount Fletcher along portions of the mountainous Freedom Challenge route we reached Rhodes over the highest pass in South Africa! Naudés Pass measures 2500m above sea level and at the top the wind nearly blew me off my bike. After the climb we dropped down for about 25km into Rhodes and from there, proceeded through Barkly East, Sterkstroom, Tarkastad and the beginning of the Karoo to Cradock, Willowmore, Outdshoorn and Calitzdorp. Arriving in the Cape Wine region we travelled through the stunning areas of Montagu, Villiersdorp, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. We have travelled through some very remote areas without reception for many days and I am writing this from Durbanville / Cape Town having covered almost 2000kms so far. Today is a physical rest day 14

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Self-funding this campaign has been very challenging and Lloyd has flown back to Durban for a few days to sell our car to keep us on the road! In George, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay we had some fantastic events organized (A trail run by Nature Sport Company, a visit and presentation to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Saasveld campus and a fund raiser dinner at the Grand Café & Rooms) and we are very grateful for the support we received. A heartfelt thank you to the organizers! Tomorrow (Tuesday, 04 June, 7pm for 7:30pm) we are holding a talk at the Atlantic Imbizo Conference Centre in Cape Town and will move on up the West Coast towards Namibia the day after. Thank you to everyone that has helped us so far! As always without the generosity and kindness of the South African people this would not be possible! Stay well and be Happy! Isabel Information on dates for fun runs and the proposed route can be found on our website www.earthawareness.co.za. If you would like to get involved in the campaign, become a sponsor, or to show your support email us on isabel@ridingforhorses.co.za Or follow us on FaceBook at www.facebook.com/RhinoKnights Donations for as little as R10 ($1.13USD) can be sent via SMS to 48716 with the words RHINOKNIGHTS in the text field.

CONSERVATION

ELEPHANTS ALIVE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH SAVE THE ELEPHANTS, IS A RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION BASED ORGANISATION INVOLVED IN CREATING AWARENESS OF ELEPHANTS AND THEIR SURVIVAL AT A TIME WHEN POPULATIONS ARE BEING DECIMATED ACROSS AFRICA. Our studies have shown that

Ever expanding infrastructure

has resulted in excessive poaching of elephants for their ivory and compression of elephants within their range. We are left with fragmented populations and disrupted migration routes.

These beautiful animals and what they represent have become tainted by human greed. Their image distorted! If you would like to see their social life restored and their linking corridors maintained,

join us at Indaba

where you can help us raise funds for the research and conservation programs aimed at rectifying and restoring their former lives.

11 - 14 May 2013, Albert LuthuliConvention Centre (Durban ICC), South Africa For more information contact: Brian Courtenay Satib Trust P O Box 427, Umhlanga Rocks, 4320,South Africa Email: brian@elephantsalive.com

Supported by:

JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

Find a Business Travel Partner Fast

Download the SATSA Desktop Widget www.satsa.com/widget/widget.html Whether you are looking for a Destination Management Company, a Professional Conference and Event Organiser, an Airline, a Shuttle Service, Car Hire or City and Safari Lodge Accommodation, SATSA members are just a click away - right on your desktop in fact. Besides the member search function, the SATSA Widget will also keep you updated on local travel trade news, events and topical information relating to the region. By doing business with a SATSA member, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have peace of mind knowing that your selected travel trade partner in southern Africa adheres to strict annual compliance criteria in terms of legal, financial and insurance credibility. And youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find it reassuring to know that our members are Bonded* to cover advance deposits against your booking.

For more information visit: www.satsa.com or contact: 086 12 SATSA (72872) E-mail: membership@satsa.co.za * The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) is the only inbound tourism NGO to have established a Lost Advances Fund whereby members, and clients of members, have access to a measure of financial protection to cover forward booking deposits in case of the involuntary liquidation of a member. We call this SATSA Bonded (Terms and conditions apply).

Your Credible Tourism Partners in Southern Africa

n i W

COMPETITION

1 of 10 Wine Tourism Handbooks

To enter simply ensure that you are opted-in to the Tourism Tattler mailing list by subscribing at http://www.tourismtattler.co.za/subscribe and answer the following question by email: “Which edition of the Wine Tourism South Africa handbook is being offered as a prize in this competition?” Email your answer with Wine Tourism South Africa Competition in the subject field to editor@tourismtattler.co.za by 27 June 2013. Remember to include your contact details (Name, company trading name, telephone numbers, city/town, province and country). The first ten correct entries drawn after the closing date will each win a 2013 Edition of the Wine Tourism South Africa handbook valued at R99.00 each. Wine Tourism is about the entire experience – people, places, wine, food and activities – and in South Africa, that experience is deep, rich and meaningful as well as being a whole lot of fun! The Wine Tourism Handbook is a guide to these experiences highlighting the farms, the dining and deli options, places to stay and things to do along each of the country’s beautiful wine routes.

wineries (those that make less than 5 000 cases of wine a year) and it showcases the winners of the popular Klink Awards – launched by Wine Tourism South Africa in 2012. In addition, wine route information has been updated with editorial reflecting the inherent character, and images capturing the scenic beauty, of each region. Restaurant Reviews Wine Tourism South Africa has reviewed and rated the top cellardoor restaurants on all 25 wine routes featured in the 2013 Wine Tourism South Africa handbook. To cater for the whole spectrum of wine tourists, the guide encompasses a range of traditional cellardoor bistros, country kitchens and heritage, contemporary and global cuisine establishments, as well as informal, family and fine dining venues. Something for everyone. Review Criteria

Wine Tourism South Africa’s reviewers take into account the entire eating-out experience – from the vineyard setting, views and wine This image-rich, full-colour, comprehensive guide to the farms, farm ambience to the welcome, service, comfort and style of the restaurants, accommodation venues venue. Review criteria also focus on The book is brilliant! I have a guesthouse and it and activities found in South Africa’s the use of local Winelands produce, is the book my guests find the most useful when Winelands is one of Wine Tourism seasonal menus, food- and wine-tasting South Africa’s (WTSA) most prestigious menus and authenticity of cuisine – as selecting which wineries to visit. I would say that products. It works in tandem with well as culinary technique, flavour, for a visitor wanting to explore our wonderful WTSA’s other exciting social media and winelands the Wine Tourism Handbook is the only balance and presentation. Reviewers online platforms and campaigns to are paid by Wine Tourism South Africa book they need. drive interest in the varied wine tourism and not by the restaurants themselves, Well done on a great wine guide! offerings of the country. nor do the restaurants know that they Monique Alexander – Guesthouse Owner are being reviewed. The 2013 edition boasts several key refinements to previous editions but retains its unique core by The 288-page 2013 Wine Tourism Handbook can be ordered online offering a comprehensive list of farms, complete with opening hours, at www.winetourismsouthafrica.co.za contact details and easy-to-read maps as well as a number of carefully selected destinations for dining, staying and playing!

“

This year, the Gourmand Award-winning publication offers independent reviews of Winelands restaurants ranging from delis to five-star establishments as well as route-by-route reviews of boutique

Note: Read the Terms and Conditions of this competition, which can be downloaded at: www.tourismtattler.co.za/Downloads/Wine-TourismHandbook-Competition-TermsConditions.pdf

WINNER OF THE NKWICHI LODGE COMPETITION FROM THE MAY 2013 EDITION CONGRATULATIONS to Tracy Pitchers of Europcar in Johannesburg, whose competition entry was the first correct entry to be drawn. Tracy has won a 4 Night Getaway for 2 valued at R23,760.00 and consists of: Four nights for two people sharing at Nkwichi Lodge in Mozambique. The prize is on a full board accommodation basis (all meals including tea and coffee), laundry, non-motorised activities, community bed-night levy and government taxes.

www.mandawilderness.org JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

DESTINATIONS

Not all visa requirements are created equal The visa-application ritual is an unavoidable rite of passage to international travel for holders of South African passports, as many countries impose a gauntlet of requirements before allowing entry. This ritual is often the only thing standing between your potential clients and the vacation of their dreams. In this article, Brent Willie looks at five of the easiest and five of the most difficult countries to get into with a South African Passport. Depending on where a South African tourist is planning to go, this last hurdle can either be a daunting heap of paperwork and complex set of procedures to follow, or it can be a breeze. Regardless of the destination and intricacies involved in the visa application, it is always best to advise your prospective client to contact a visa specialist for assistance. There is generally a lot of money involved in planning an overseas vacation, and the last thing you want your client to do is spend money on accommodation, flights and other travel arrangements without securing his or her visas. The range of visa requirements is broad and varies from country to country. Many require that South African passport holders apply for a visa weeks before travel, with some even cautioning that airline tickets only be confirmed after they’ve issued the visa. For other countries, it’s as easy as presenting a valid passport on arrival.

Easiest and most hassle-free countries to get into with a South African passport There are fewer than 100 countries in the world where South Africans can go without a visa. Many countries in South America, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, for example, allow South African tourists to stay for as many as three months, visa free. All of them typically require that the tourist has evidence of onward travel, such as a ticket or a confirmed reservation, and that his or her passport is valid for up to six months after their planned departure. Among these are some surprising must-see tourism meccas. These are my top 5 selections:

1. Hong Kong

2. New Zealand

Unlike neighbouring island Australia, New Zealand does not require that South African tourists apply for a visa before travelling. What’s more is that South African tourists can stay up to three months to take in the island’s natural splendour, provided that on arrival they show evidence of onward travel and that they have enough money for food, accommodation and such during their stay.

3. Jamaica

Jamaica, and much of the Caribbean, is a tropical paradise that welcomes South African passport holders without much hassle. A valid passport gets them in for up to 90 days without a visa. The island’s friendly resort towns of Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and Negril are ideal for unwinding on the beach with a cocktail in hand while the sunsets over the ocean.

4. Kenya

Hong Kong is sometimes described as the New York of the East, thanks to its bright lights, skyscrapers and cosmopolitan blend of nationalities who call the country home. Still, the island retains its distinctly Chinese character in some of the architecture and much of the food. South African passport holders can visit Hong Kong for up to 30 days without a visa. 18

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DESTINATIONS

Kenya’s mix of abundant wildlife, mountainous terrain and luxurious seaside resorts on the Mombasa coastline make the country an attractive travel destination. It has a bit of something for everyone. South Africans can visit Kenya without a visa for stays up to 30 days.

2. United Kingdom

5. Brazil

South African passport holders used to be able to jet into the United Kingdom without having to apply for a visa beforehand. That all came to an end a couple of years ago. A tourist visa to the UK will set your client back almost R1,200 for a stay of up to six months. The Rio Carnival, the Amazon rainforest, the 2014 soccer world cup, the bronzed, sculpted bodies that line the country’s more than 2,000 beaches—there are plenty of reasons to visit Brazil. Like much of South America, immigration requirements for South African tourists to Brazil are pretty relaxed, allowing stays for up to 90 days without a visa.

Most difficult countries to get into with a South African passport It’s best to warn your clients that the difficulty in getting a tourist visa, when they need one, isn’t in whether or not it will get approved. That’s the easy part. The hard part is navigating the sometimescomplex application procedures and forking out the hefty fees for something that in some cases will expire in a few months. These are some of the more difficult to navigate:

1. The European Union

The word “Schengen visa” is enough to trigger an episode of posttraumatic-stress disorder for anyone who has ever had to plan a visit to multiple countries in the European economic area, which is the European Union countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. A Schengen visa allows tourists to travel freely between countries in the European economic area—a good idea, except the application can get tricky.

3. Australia

As with the UK, Australia’s tourist visa requirements for South Africans are aimed mainly at establishing their identity and confirming that they are bona fide tourists who plan to return home at the end of their trip. The requirements are similar, and tourists should probably travel with copies of these as well. Once they navigate this, the beaches of the Gold Coast and street side cafes of Melbourne are good ways to unwind from the stress.

4. Russia

Russia is famous for its Soviet-era architecture and rich cultural heritage. However, to experience any of it, South African passport holders need to apply for a visa.

5. United States

Your client will need to submit the application to the embassy or consulate of the country that is their main destination based on the length of their stay. If they can’t make that determination because, for example, they will be staying in each country for an equal amount of time, they then should submit the application to the embassy or consulate first country they’ll be entering in the European economic area.

Even though South Africans are required to apply for a visa to visit the United States, this visa probably offers your client the most bang for their buck. America is huge, spanning diverse destinations, such The visa itself takes a few days to process and issue, but advise your as wine valleys of Napa and Sonoma in California, the ski resorts of client to apply at least three to six weeks before they intend to travel. the Rocky Mountains and the beaches of southern Florida. Not only that, the tourist visa can be issued with a 10-year validity period. The It is important that you advise potential clients to always check the requirements for their drawback however is the lengthy specific destination before they travel, because countries are always renegotiating and changing application form, the approximately visa arrangements. The Global Visas South Africa website www.globalvisas.com has up-to-date R1,500 cost depending on the information on global immigration and visas for a range of popular destinations. exchange rate, and the wait times About the Author: Brent Willie, Head of Sales at Global Visas South Africa, has extensive for an appointment and for your experience in immigration and relocating clients from around the world and has expert knowledge clients passport with the visa inside on visas and visa requirements. to be returned. JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

EVENTS

RETOSA EVENTS CALENDAR - JUNE 2013 Date

Event

Description

Venue

BOTSWANA 20 - 22 June

Ghanzi Agricultural Show

Mr Gaseitsiwe

Ghanzi

MALAWI TBA

Chizangala – Gule wa mkulu Festival and Mwezi wawala Festival

Also known as ‘the Great Dance’, Gule Within Chewa wamkulu is performed at the request of the settlements village headman on the occasion of funerals of village members, puberty initiations, and the installation of chiefs and is part of the legacy of royal ritual inherited from the Chewa past. Mwezi wawala is a Nanzikambe Arts Festival initiative.

MOZAMBIQUE 25 June

Independence Day

Celebrated on June 25th each year to commemorate the country gaining independence from the colonial government of Portugal, with traditional dance, poetry and music performances. Festivities in Maputo are always preceded by a presidential speech.

National

SEYCHELLES 18 June

National Day

29 June

Independence Day

(National Day committee)

TBA

SWAZILAND 09 June

Nedbank Imvelo MTB Classic

The Nedbank Imvelo MTB Classic takes place at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary on an annual basis at the beginning of June. It’s one of Swaziland’s, in fact Southern Africa’s, truly great cycling events. The event typically offers four distances of approximately 10km, 22km, 35km and 65km for cyclists.

Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary

TANZANIA 31 May – 02 June

Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair

An annual event where by East Africa’s travel and tourism industry congregates to exhibit products and services to regional and international travel agents and tour operators

Arusha

ZAMBIA 26 June – 07 July

Zambia International Trade Fair (ZITF)

Trade Show business to business and general public

Ndola Showgrounds, Ndola – Copperbelt Province

RETOSA Annual Events Calendar

RETOSA has launched an annual events calendar aimed at keeping the travel trade informed on forthcoming events in each of the 14 RETOSA member countries, namely: Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Each month’s events will be published in the Tourism Tattler and the full year’s events for each country can be downloaded at: www.tourismtattler.co.za/donwloads/retosa2013calendarofevents.pdf 20

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JUNE 2013

ENVIRONMENT

Access to Climate Change Finance in South Africa The National Business Initiative’s latest research report presents a private sector view on eleven barriers to climate finance in South Africa with a view to enhancing Green Climate Funding in the country, writes Marjorie Dean. The National Business Initiative (NBI) presented the findings of its study *A private sector view of enhancing private sector access to Climate Finance in South Africa to an Accelerate Cape Town and KPMG Sustainability Forum held in Cape Town recently. The forum heard that the Western Cape Government, through its ‘Green Economy Strategy Framework’, aims to see the province becoming the lowest carbon province in South Africa and the leading green economic hub of the African continent. Joanne Yawitch, CEO of the NBI and Jenny Cargill, Special Advisor to the Premier of the Western Cape, presented the findings of the study. Yawitch explained the background to this project, which was to determine how to enhance private sector access to funding for the implementation of low carbon projects in South Africa. There were three main objectives to this project – namely to identify the available funds, their criteria and value; to determine barriers to accessing funds and assuming a barrier was the availability of information; conduct an informative road show with project developers. This proved difficult for a number of reasons, amongst them being few private sector institutions having dedicated funds – perhaps because there are differing views on what constitutes a low-carbon fund. Therefore the project evolved to a more general financial sector view on barriers to both the availability and uptake of low-carbon finance. Opportunity Yawitch briefly explained the analytics and statistics gleaned from the research and the barriers were grouped into four mega-opportunities which were further analysed using two primary frameworks and the following was found: • Unlock product innovation in the financial sector in relation to the green/low-carbon economy • Make it easier for new market entrants and improve communication between project developers and finance institutions • Align perceptions of the green economy and work together to resolve structural issues • Drive low-carbon projects into larger companies. Yawitch ended her presentation by saying that “yes, there’s money and projects but there is insufficient interaction between the two. The NBI is planning a road show for the first week in July aimed at project developers and companies, because while there are short term solutions, the project revealed that collaborative action is required to address systemic changes.”

Cargill explained that the Western Cape Government’s ‘Green Economy Strategy Framework’, with a focus on a green economy, is centered on investment in new and expanded market opportunities that support a low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive economic pathway. The Western Cape Provincial Government’s main goal is “to see the province becoming the lowest carbon province in the country and the leading green economic hub of the African continent.” To do this requires ‘SMART’ living and working, mobility, eco-systems, agriproduction and enterprise, said Cargill. Further steps Cargill reported that the next steps in this process are to consolidate the existing green economy capability and information, prioritise an investment case within each of the five action areas identified and source funding for these investment cases. The provincial government’s flagship initiative called 110% Green, is also a great opportunity to build green networks between government and business. In the subsequent discussion session it became clear from the questions asked that many at the breakfast forum felt that the biggest barrier to action was knowing who to approach in government about ‘green’ issues. Cargill responded by saying that businesses can approach the provincial government through Green Cape (a Sector Development Agency established to unlock the manufacturing and employment potential in the Green Economy in the Western Cape) and all the relevant information is on the Western Cape Government’s website. Chris Whelan, CEO of Accelerate Cape Town, re-iterated business’s commitment to working in partnership with the government in the sustainability sphere. What also became evident was that many delegates felt there is a lack of synchronicity or a systems approach between the City of Cape Town, the provincial government and business. There needs to be more knowledge sharing while moving onto a low carbon growth path. If a systems approach could be put in place then when change is made in one area it will have a desired effect on all the other areas. You can download the full report at www.nbi.org.za

*The NBI research has been funded by the Prosperity Fund of the British High Commission Foreign Commonwealth Office, with technical assistance from KPMG’s Climate Change & Sustainability Unit. JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

HOSPITALITY

Hotel Industry’s Financial Balancing Act Seeing as much of the world as possible is on most tourist’s bucket lists. Experience and memories constitute the return on their life investment but being able to get their heads around justifying the costs involved can be a whole other story, writes Janine Mare. There are exchange rates, transport to-and-from where they’re headed, plus getting around wherever they’re going, to consider. But getting tourists to think about how important comfort, security and safety are when they have their valuables in a back pack, and how he or she needs a good night’s sleep to get the most from their travelling days, then the hospitality portion of their budget may start to make a little more sense. And if they’re travelling on business? All of the above – as much if not more so! Choosing accommodation for leisure or business almost always comes down to location. Can tourists or business travellers afford to lose precious time commuting in and out of the hub of where they’re staying? Take Cape Town for example; they may choose to stay in Muizenberg, but if getting the most out of the Mother City’s attractions or getting economic value from their business day in the city is a priority, they need a quality, trusted, top hotel in a competitive location. Feel like they’re buying the whole room? Point out the costs involved in order for a tourist-attractive hotel in a hub like Cape Town to deliver world-class services to its guests. If it’s necessary to look world-class and deliver world-class, it needs to be world-class. This requires qualified employees, adequate cleaning facilities for rooms and linen, a qualified team of chefs and a fully equipped kitchen for catering, and fine furnishings in rooms, meeting rooms and hallways that contribute to a memorable and highly-rated experience. At some point you need to charge guests, so you need credit card facilities for payments that come with their own set of bank charges; and before all of that, you need capital investment. This will probably be in the form of a loan from a bank with its own set of considerable monthly repayments and interest factors. And then there’s another petrol increase! As individuals and as organisations, we’re all susceptible to how a petrol price increase sends the rest of our bills into a state of serious concern due to the relative knock-on effect. A hotel business is no different; billings are based on a) capacity, and b) the cost of consumables, services and overheads, before it can invoice a guest for anything. And when there’s a hiccup with Eskom or a price increase from same, the costs have to be challenged – or absorbed – in order for the business model to continue to survive. As a service industry offering, it is important for hotels to be consistent in their offering. So for the hotel and tourism industry, this means benchmarking the offering with international standards while meeting monthly financial targets throughout the year – even in the 22

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off-season months – while being competitive at the same time. The challenge then is for hotels to cut costs and save money behind the scenes – in areas that do not directly affect the guest’s experience so that the establishment remains competitive. This helps to leverage return business which translates from happy clients and which, in turn, makes your business happy too. There’s a lot for a tourist to consider when choosing a hotel. Is it a fly-by-night establishment where you can’t leave your passport in the room, or is it one with a great reputation based on good reviews and that comes at a competitive price, and in a good location? Balancing quality and costs There are establishments that will meet you on both of these, but how and where you choose to allocate your budget comes down to your unique set of leisure and/or business needs. Expenses are not about an irresponsible allocation of funds but rather a responsible allocation of funds where you can see and measure your Return on Investment (ROI) for what you put in. Whether it’s for business or pleasure, be sure that where you decide to put your client’s hard-earned money is an establishment that respects and understands the value of that hard-earned money. A hotel’s potential to make a decent ROI is dependent on its potential to book rooms to capacity – although this is rare. Premium hotels in Cape Town for example work on a 60% annual occupancy, and have to contend with some very tight margins. And when this is the case, if a hotel is selling a room at a nightly rate of R2,500.00, how much are they ever really making when the hotel is never entirely full – a likely reality when you look at these averages of annual occupancy: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 62% 83% 72% 58% 49% 48% 48% 50% 69% 62% 68% 74%

These figures show the very definite risky reality that hotels face. Even at its highest 83% occupancy in February, this is still not full. For a more comprehensive report with truly sobering infographics, visit the South African Hotels blog spot titled ‘Hotels and Their Financial Challenge’ at: www.south-african-hotels.com Note: There is an option available to increase hotel room occupancy - and improve cashflow - tap into the US$12 billion barter trade network. See our article on page 00 in this edition of Tattler - Editor.

HOSPITALITY

Putting Bums in Beds with Barter trading unsold bed-nights for media We all know that advertising builds brands and generates new business leads, but when marketing budgets shrink and cash-flow dries up, we need to find practical solutions to retain top-of-mind awareness. What better way to do this than to trade one’s excess inventory, writes Des Langkilde. In today’s economic environment, there are few travel and tourism service providers who can claim to be running at full capacity throughout the year. Unsold bed-nights, empty seats in restaurants and on tour coaches are very much like perishable products in the FMCG sector - if you don’t sell them by the expiry date, they’re gone forever. But there is a very practical solution to this age-old dilemma. Barter. By barter, I don’t mean exchanging a hotel room or restaurant table with meals for its equivalent value in candles or some other product or service that you don’t need. I’m talking about currency in the form of barter dollars, that is banked in the same way as cash transactions are paid via electronic funds transfer (EFT) and spent by procuring goods and services through the barter network to offset your normal cash transactions, like buying advertising, legal services, linen, carhire, real estate, travel and accommodation to name but a few. A lucrative travel channel According to the International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA), over $12 billion in barter trade was exchanged between 400,000 companies worldwide last year. Considering that 40 percent of this $12 billion was bartered for media and 30 percent for travel and accommodation, this is certainly an alternative travel channel that is worth tapping into. Bob Meyer, the editor of BarterNews, stated in an article published in the August edition of Tourism Tattler that “the global value of annual economic activity facilitated by some form of barter trade exceeds USD 3.7 trillion. The growth of barter and the economic activity that it facilitates is not limited by money, but inspired and propelled by a lack of money. With that said, bartering stands to grow a lot.”

your barter account. This motivates the TransMedia team to provide solutions to your procurement needs as they only get paid when you have something to buy and not when you have something to sell. TWO. Determine how much of your excess inventory you want to make available on barter trade. For example if you own a 10-room guesthouse, are running at 60% occupancy and charge R1,000 per room, per night, on a bed and breakfast basis you may want to make 10 percent of your excess inventory available. This would equate to 146 room nights or R146,000 per annum. Be sure to include VAT as barter trades must be accounted for. THREE. Convert this allocation to coupons or vouchers. TransMedia will buy these vouchers and sell them on to other international barter agents to sell to their clients. Your barter trade account (just like any bank account) will be credited with the full value of the transaction (14,546.18 USD at the prevailing exchange rate while writing this article). So not only have you just sold 10% of your hitherto lost bed-nights and increased your occupancy rate overnight, you’ve also been paid upfront and have the means to reduce your cash procurement expenditure immediately. FOUR. Brief TransMediaBarter on your media buying strategy (or any other procurement needs that you may have). TransMedia has a media planning and booking department and if we, or our network of global barter agents, don’t have the radio or TV station, cinema, magazine, website or outdoor signage media in the country that you want, we’ll get them onboard. And the best part is that only 10% of the transaction will impact on your cash flow.

Four simple steps to tap into the barter market

But that’s not all - what you’ve really done is to convert those empty, and never to be recovered, room nights into a cash saving solution that will generate new cash business, because the prospects that respond to your advertising exposure aren’t barter clients.

ONE. Open an account with a reputable corporate barter broker to gain access to local and international clients with barter dollars to spend. TransMediaBarter has been in the barter business for 19 years and is represented in Southern Africa by yours truly, so clearly I recommend their services.

So what’s holding you back? Are you really going to miss this opportunity of tapping into an existing, lucrative travel channel worth billions of dollars because you’ve never done barter the way that it should be done before? Or are you going to take action now and turn your occupancy rates around?

There is no cost to open an account, no monthly or annual membership fee and no sellers, finders or admin fees. The way that TransMedia makes its revenue is when they help you to spend the barter dollars that you have earned by charging a 10% cash fee on the value of each barter transaction when you use funds from

For hospitality and media barter trading opportunities in Southern Africa contact +27(0)87 727 8631 or email des@transmediabarter.com or visit www.transmediabarter.com/ JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

LEGAL

(i.e. ‘collect, disseminate or merge’) PI, you need to appoint an IPO, train him/her and register your IPO with the Information Protection Regulator (‘IPR’). As a number of statutes require you to appoint a compliance person, you may as well appoint such a person as your IPO. The duties of the IPO are:

The NEW ‘POPI’ aka PROTECTION

OF PERSONAL INFORMATION ACT – PART 2 – ACCOUNTABILITY

As mentioned in the first insert the POPI is based on eight principles – let’s look more closely at the first principle namely accountability. POPI requires the responsible person (that is the person who determines the purpose and means of processing the personal information – ‘PI’) (‘the RP’) to appoint an Information Protection Officer (‘IPO’). Accordingly whether you are a travel agent, tour operator, PCO, venue, agent of any of these or in any other business and you process

• Submitting reports to the IPR • Drafting a data protection policy which must be (a) understandable and (b) address especially high risk information • Provide or arrange staff training and create a culture of compliance. Accordingly it is suggested that business’s should do the following with immediate effect, which tasks, other than the first, should be carried out by the IPO: • Ensure that they have a ‘general compliance person’ as per other statutes and entrust that person with the IPO duties as required by POPI • Draft an information security, usage and retention policy (This is already a requirement in terms of RICA and has now become imperative) • Assess all the information dealt with by the business and categorize same so as to ascertain how to deal with each category • Train all employees at all levels. Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide a brief overview of legal matters pertaining to the travel and tourism industry and is not intended as legal advice. © Adv Louis Nel, BENCHMARK, June 2013.

Debt collection. Cashflow is the lifeblood of any business - bad debts threaten viability. SJA assists, from issueing summonses to executing judgements. Contact: tinal@savage.co.za

Commercial. Registration of companies, trademarks & searches. Drawing up of contracts - leases, sales of business, joint ventures, partnerships & franchises. Contact: jonathanh@savage.co.za

Liabilities. Specialising in Professional Indemnity, Insurance Law, Travel and Tourism liability. Contact: waynef@savage.co.za

Commercial. Corporate Advisory Services, Liquidations, Commercial Contracts, Company Registrations and Intellectual Property Law. Contact: hennies@savage.co.za Labour and Administrative Law. Specialising in Labour Law as well as public and private partnerships in the environmental context. Contact: mariuss@savage.co.za

Personal Injury. SJA’s specialist departments have many years of experience with the Road Accident Fund and this area of the law. Contact: robh@savage.co.za Property. Specialising in Sectional Title and Game Lodge development conveyancing matters. Contact: marleeng@savage.co.za

Johannesburg: Pretoria: (011) 325 0830 (012) 452 8200 E-mail: info@savage.co.za

www.savage.co.za

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

JUNE 2013

MARKETING

Market Intelligence Report The information below was extracted from data available as at 30 May 2013, writes Martin Jansen van Vuuren.

ARRIVALS The latest available data from Statistics South Africa is for January 2013: Current period

Change over same period last year

34 392

-18.7%

Germany

21 101

-6.0%

USA

21 330

2.7%

India

8 270

14.9%

China

11 992

-3.5%

Overseas Arrivals (excl same day visitors)

202 548

-3.7%

African Arrivals

646 325

-4.2%

Total Foreign Arrivals

850 759

-4.1%

NB: African Arrivals plus Overseas Arrivals do not add up to Total Foreign Arrivals due to the exclusion of unspecified arrivals, which could not be allocated to either African or Overseas.

HOTEL STATS The latest available data from STR Global is for January to April 2013: Current period

Average Room Occupancy (ARO)

Average Room Rate (ARR)

Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR)

All Hotels in SA

62.7%

R 983

R 616

All 5-star hotels in SA

64.8%

R 1 771

R 1 147

All 4-star hotels in SA

63.1%

R 940

R 593

All 3-star hotels in SA

64.8%

R 1 771

R 1 147

Change over same period last year All Hotels in SA

7.2%

8.6%

16.5%

All 5-star hotels in SA

11.0%

7.8%

19.7%

All 4-star hotels in SA

5.2%

9.0%

14.7%

All 3-star hotels in SA

7.7%

8.1%

16.4%

Passengers arriving on Regional Flights

Passengers arriving on Domestic Flights

ACSA DATA

The latest available data from ACSA is for January to February 2013: Change over same period last year Passengers arriving on International Flights OR Tambo International

4.1%

-0.2%

-8.7%

Cape Town International

-6.4%

-5.0%

-3.3%

King Shaka International

15.1%

N/A

-8.9%

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MY BUSINESS The decline in foreign tourism reflected in the Statistics SA data is countered with the increase in the performance of hotels as reflected in the STR data. Discussions with hoteliers at Indaba confirmed that the hotels are achieving an improvement on their rates. This improvement coupled with the improvement in occupancy rates is resulting in strong growth in revenue per available room (19.7% for the first four months of 2013 for 5-star hotels). The decline in ACSA data is due to the loss of capacity with the demise of 1Time. What this means for the tourism industry depends on the industry sector within which you are operating. Tour Operators catering to the foreign leisure market could see a decline in their business if the declining trend in foreign arrivals continues. Guesthouses catering to the domestic business market that needs to fly to its destination could see a decline in their business due to the increase in the cost of flights. Car rental companies could experience a decline in their business if the decline in the number of foreign and domestic passengers continues. The performance of hotels seems to be contrary to the Statistics SA and ACSA data, which could partly be due to hotels recovering from a low base and partly because the growth in tourist demand during 2012 has started to make inroads into the increase in hotel supply in recent years. For more information contact Martin at Grant Thornton on +27 (0)21 417 8838 or visit: http://www.gt.co.za JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

MARKETING

• EMAIL MARKETING • EMAIL MARKETING • EMAIL MARKETING • In part 1 (May) we looked at newsletters and where to start. In this article we look at the actual content and structure of a successful newsletter, writes Pieter Philipse.

– PART 2 –

Newsletter Content Most of the newsletters I get in my in-box are from safari companies or DMCs, generally informative on the product level telling me what location, what activities and what accommodation they provide plus whom to contact and how to get there. So what’s wrong with that? Nice email from nice people - what exactly am I missing here? First of all I like getting newsletters from people in the business and often look to just see what it is they are doing, but as soon as I see yet another “Look at my product” message I quickly click away. We all get messages like this everyday and they are basically all the same, churning out the same information over and over again. You really can’t tell these newsletters apart unless they have been templated in which case that might have a pleasing effect after all. So how does one go about producing an effective newsletter?

works in forging relationships (even if you are an undertaker). That’s it? No it isn’t, now comes the fun part - merging your anecdotes and your product information together. This takes a bit of imagination, for example what anecdote can you tell that has something to do with the product you are selling? Well that is something you have to figure out for yourself but my advice is to involve your colleagues, your family and your friends. You’ll come up with something guaranteed; after all if you are completely involved with your business you’ll find exactly what to write about! Last but not least The header (tag line) of your newsletter is important make sure it directly rings a big bell with your subscribers! Make sure your branding and newsletter design is personally targeted towards the markets and subscriber base you are dealing with.

Let’s first go back to some essentials. For instance what is important in sending out a monthly newsletter? Is it the product you want to show Subscribers to the Tourism Tattler or is it what your subscribers want to magazine receive 30% discount on all our read? We often forget to dig into the Email Marketing, Web Design and other personas at the other end of our virtual media services. Go to the Kondwana pens to find out what “they” value the Communications Email Marketing Page at most. It is so easy to slip back into the KONDWANA.COM and take advantage of old information bashing routine. So let’s this offer today... get under the hood with some simple specifics. Every successful newsletter does the following: • takes the customer on a short but interesting journey, • shows product information and • illustrates the combination of both magnificently. These points are absolutely key to creating lasting relationships and of course trust. I know it’s easy to say; “Hey this is what we are going to do!” and then leave out the important stuff, so what exactly lies at the heart of a good relationship bonding newsletter? Well it is most importantly ‘INVOLVEMENT’. What every subscriber really wants to know What every subscriber wants to know and doesn’t ask is: ‘HOW INVOLVED ARE YOU WITH YOUR PRODUCT’. Aha! So how do we explain or show subscribers how involved we are exactly? Well, quite simply by giving them a view of our actions, our drive, and our imagination. Really what readers want is that we write about ourselves, our colleagues, what happens in the office or out in the bush, how certain things were achieved, how we and our colleagues coped with a difficult situation, you name it - any personal anecdotes together with a healthy dose of humour. Humour always 26

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In Conclusion If you are fed up sending just product information and maybe making a sale, but instead want a the high response rate from your newsletters then at all times remember that your personal involvement with your business is the key to building lasting relationships and increasing sales with new and existing customers alike.

If you have any questions regarding writing your own newsletters feel free to contact me at philipse@kondwana.com Next month I will be discussing newsletter design. For more information visit www.kondwana.com

NICHE TOURISM

Red-tape tourism

Could Home Affairs offices, licencing departments and similar bureaucratic facilities in South Africa’s small towns compete on service delivery to create a new domestic tourism niche? asks Ivo Vegter. If you want an ID book, passport or a driver’s licence and you don’t like queuing, you have a few options. One is to employ a professional queuing service, which will handle much of the hassle for you. If you prefer not to take risks with your most important documents, or want to avoid the busier places altogether, there are not many better places to go than a small town or a lightly-populated suburb. So, why not go there? The idea sprang from a report that the City of Cape Town issues frequently, which charts waiting times for driving and learner driver’s licences. The waiting time in days varies tremendously. You could wait between eight and 101 days for a learner’s licence, between 25 and 91 days for a driver’s licence, between 66 and 144 days for a heavy vehicle licence, and between 26 and 127 days for a motorcycle licence. You can get a learner’s and driver’s licence in just over a month, but not if you get both at the same place. Milnerton, Eastridge and Elsies River for example, all score well on learner’s licences, but for driver’s licences, you want to be at Brackenfell, Durbanville, Goodwood, Lingelethu West, New Ottery, or Somerset West. The quickest combo – Elsies River and New Ottery – will get you a learner’s and driver’s in only 33 days. The worst – Joe Gqabi and Milnerton – have wait times of more than six months. The best single office is Eastridge, with Elsies River and Durbanville placing second and third, while the worst place to get both licences would be Joe Gqabi or Kuils River, where they’ll keep you waiting 159 and 143 days, respectively. Each location will have its pros and cons, of course. The more elegantly dressed are unlikely to seek out a rough neighbourhood, even if the service is faster. But what if smaller, outlying towns entered into the fray? Let them compete with each other for the best service at Home Affairs offices, licensing departments and similar bureaucratic facilities. As last week’s column shows, red tape is only going to get worse, so any valve to relieve some of the pressure must surely be welcome. First hand experience

Once the idea of seeking the best towns in which to obtain decent bureaucratic service has been established, we might even find that some places begin to specialise. Much like agriculture and mining resources are centred in particular towns, some places can become known as motor licence central, while another becomes the company registration capital of its province, or the entire country. All of them will place competitive pressure not only on each other to improve, but will receive impetus and assistance from local businesses and municipalities, who have every incentive to place well in the red-tape tourism rankings. Objections Of course, there will be some objections. The most obvious is that in competing for tourism business, towns might let standards at their civil service offices slip, so as not to disappoint visitors. Arguably, there’s an equally strong motive to make it harder for them, so they’ll come back, so whether this hypothetical has any merit is debatable. A more plausible argument is that it may encourage corruption in order to boost performance metrics like waiting times, failure rates and queue lengths. This objection is quite simply handled: the integrity of these services ought to already be monitored, ideally by outside parties without vested interests. Don’t think citizens – and especially service providers such as driving schools and professional queuing services – do not already know exactly how corruptible officials are, and do not already use this knowledge in their choice of service centre. Another problem is that visitors will use resources that ought to be spent on local residents. This is half-true, although one might argue that local residents have no right to better service than one can get in the worst parts of Johannesburg, Durban or Cape Town. Still, local government for local citizens has some merit, even if it is mostly motivated by prejudice. A simple solution would be to levy an out-of-towner surcharge of, say, 50% on the usual administrative fee. (Or charge a tourism levy - Ed). Someone once said that if you seek a smaller government as a matter of principle, it makes no sense to complain that government is inefficient. You should desire an inefficient government, since it can do less harm than an efficient oppressor.

I have first-hand experience of excellent service at Home Affairs in George, and by all accounts, the Plettenberg Bay branch also doesn’t keep you waiting long. I’ve heard similar tales about many other small towns, as well as the more outlying offices in major cities. By contrast, you frequently hear nightmare tales from the busier offices in urban centres, where someone who has lost an ID and driver’s licence has to stand in several multiple-hour queues just to get their documents replaced.

That view is smugly clever, but there are places I don’t really want to go for academic principles, and a three-hour Home Affairs queue is one of them. I quite like the idea of bringing some competition into the market for government services. And that’s why I like the notion of letting not only civil service centres, but entire suburbs and towns, compete for the business of “red-tape tourists”.

Why not take a break? Do it in a nice touristy town, where the service is good, the views are scenic and the weather is mild?

Published with acknowledgement to the Daily Maverick - www.dailymaverick.co.za

Towns that are good at providing services to citizens, as measured by the sort of system Cape Town has for licences, can use it to attract... well, shall we call them red-tape tourists? 28

Taking the idea forward

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

JUNE 2013

Now all we need is for someone to run with the idea.

About the Author: Ivo Vegter is a columnist and the author of Extreme Environment, a book on environmental exaggeration and how it harms emerging economies. His book can be purchased at www.exclus1ves.co.za

RISK

Travel Trade INSURANCE PART 7 The previous four parts of this series, extracted verbatim (with slight editing) from the SATSA Insurance Directive booklet, were published in the December 2012, January, February, March, April and May 2013 editions - Editor. TYPES OF INSURANCE Basically there are five kinds of insurance that really apply to the tourism industry: 1. Financial Guarantee (Insurance Bond) - Refer December 2012 2. Liability Insurance - Refer January 2013 edition • General Public Liability - Refer January edition • Passenger Liability - Refer January and February editions • Road Accident Fund Amendment Bill - Refer March edition • Personal Accident insurance - Refer April edition • Professional Indemnity insurance - Refer April edition 3. Vehicle - Refer April edition / Property Insurance 4. Travel Insurance / Medical Rescue - Refer May edition 5. Other Business Insurance (Buy & Sell, Key Person, Provident Fund) OTHER BUSINESS INSURANCE Part of being a business owner and breadwinner means making provision for unforeseen challenges. Risks associated with life assurance are not pleasant to think about, but they do play a significant role in your business and personal life. The results could be disastrous if they are not properly insured and managed. All businesses have a unique set of financial requirements which need to be managed in times of crisis, and Buy & Sell agreements can provide reassurance as they provide a legal document that ensures that the business is not thrown into disarray if one of the shareholders dies or is disabled. Buy & Sell agreements preserve the continuity of business ownership and are designed to protect the shareholding of the partners or owners by providing the surviving shareholders with the funds needed to purchase the shares of the deceased shareholder. Key Person cover is an insurance policy that is taken out by an employer to insure the life of a key individual within the organization. A key person is anyone within the business who significantly enhances profitability. The policy provides the finance that will be needed to recruit and train a replacement for the position that the deceased key person has vacated. Businesses incur debt and shareholders generally have to sign surety for these debts, which creates both business and personal risks. Personal Liability insurance transfers the risk by providing cover for sureties signed by the business partners in the event of the insured’s untimely death. As a responsible partner and parent, it is important to be prepared for any eventuality, especially death and disability. Your family’s standard of living could suffer in the event of death, disability or dread disease 30

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal

JUNE 2013

of one or both of the breadwinners. Personal Life and Disability insurance cover provides the funds needed to continue supporting your family if you are unable to continue working due to illness or injury and ensure that major debt items such as home loans and car repayments do not cripple the family financially. After a lifetime of hard work, retirement should be about enjoying a relaxing and well-deserved break but it can become a distant dream if the retirement funding that has been put into place is insufficient and basic needs cannot be met. Retirement insurance cover allows for the investment of small sums of money on a monthly basis to accumulate to the desired capital needed to ensure a financially stress-free retirement. SUMMARY This then largely covers the broader aspects of the insurances covering the tourism industry. In summary, a few important facts are worth repeating: • Wherever possible make sure that your business is run as legally as possible. Don’t give a claimant any unnecessary ammunition to help bolster their case • Always remain calm and provide the obvious humanitarian services to a client, that you yourself would expect to receive, were you in a similar situation • Make sure that you are reasonably well insured for all eventualities. Don’t be pressured by horror stories and the threat of how a tourist will destroy you, but be prepared for the normal accident situation. Remember that many insurance policies overlap and you can be covered twice over in some respects • Make sure that all accidents of any nature are reported to a relevant official authority • Make sure that your policy covers you in all of the different countries in which you operate and for all the different activities that you conduct. In other words does the policy you bought in Cape Town cover you for the hippo attack that occurs in the middle of the Okavango Delta? • Ensure that all your paper work is up to date. Try and make absolutely sure that your clients are aware of exactly what they are in for and that they sign acknowledgement of this fact • Make sure that your vehicles are in the best possible condition that they can be. Don’t cut corners on safety measures • Make sure that the literature promoting your business is factual and not misleading • Never feel pressured to sign unreasonable contracts with agents that increase your liability and limit your rights to that of another country. You operate in Southern Africa and that is where you must fight your battles • Select sub-contractors with care. As far as practically possible try and only use SATSA members. Should you use a contractor on a regular basis draw up a standard service agreement making them responsible for their product and giving you recourse in the event of non-performance

RISK

Travel Trade INSURANCE • When a foreign operator is selling your product from their brochure, or in fact even selling it without brochure inclusion, try and ensure that they are representing your product accurately. Wherever possible, proof-read and authorise any literature that displays your product before being bound by it • Try and ensure that the gross price that your agent charges the consumer is a reasonable mark up and reflects good value for the service or product offered. If prices are high, client expectations are also high, and this often leads to conflict at the point of supply • Beware of giving credit to agents who are ‘bad payers’. Many a time payment may be withheld in the event of a dispute and this puts you in a very vulnerable position. A financially weak agent may try and use a complaint as a reason for non-payment • Make sure that your agents’ cancellation policies are in line with yours. Agents are under pressure to pay back deposits and return

funds at the last minute, and this can leave you high and dry. However you must be prepared to share some responsibility and risk with your foreign agent, as they also have difficult parameters within which they work • Don’t be bullied into refunding agents if you feel it unjustified. Make sure complaints are in writing and that you have had a fair chance to respond. Insist on receiving all correspondence and get the full picture. Proof of any refunds made by agents should be requested. Obviously when the complaint is genuine, act with dignity and try and sort out the situation as fairly and quickly as possible • Above all, remember that your products or services are competing and being compared with those of all other similar products from all over the world. Ensure that your prices are competitive and that your service is beyond reproach.

Get the Tourism Insurance Directive booklet

DOWNLOAD (PDF)

www.tourismtattler.co.za/satsa-insurance-directive.pdf

PRINTED COPY

Collect at SATSA’s offices: 3rd Floor, Petrob House, 343 Surrey Avenue, Ferndale, Johannesburg or email communications@satsa.co.za (Note that a nominal fee will be charged for admin, postage or courier costs)

* The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) is the only inbound tourism NGO to have established a Lost Advances Fund whereby members, and clients of members, have access to a measure of financial protection to cover forward booking deposits in case of the involuntary liquidation of a member. We call this SATSA Bonded (Terms and conditions apply - for more information visit www.satsa.com).

JUNE 2013

Tourism Tattler Trade Journal