EDITOR'S VIEWPOINT

Focus on the domestic market

In the aftermath of September 11 hardly a week has gone by without some marketing expert suggesting that South Africa will become a major tourism destination now because it is perceived as safe and unlikely to be a target for international terrorism.

People with slightly longer memories will remember that it is only a couple of years since Planet Hollywood was blown up in Cape Town, the Heidelberg pub in Observatory was turned into a slaughter-house and churches, pubs and country clubs all over the republic were raided by terrorists.

Let's hope that these acts of politically motivated murder will never be repeated, but now we all face the terror of crime. People are shot dead every day in South Africa and the security and funeral industries are probably the fastest growing in the country.

But for the sake of the debate, let's assume that South Africa is a safe place for all. How are the tourists, ie foreign travellers, going to get here. Airlines all over the world are sacking staff and cutting flights. And to make up for lost revenue they are not very cleverly pushing fares through the roof with new security taxes.

Everyday the newspapers are filled with reports of the global recession and companies all over the world are retrenching staff. Does anyone really believe that a man who has just lost his job is going to say to his family: "Oh well, let's go and have a holiday in South Africa."

Cruise liners may well offer good business but most passengers will sleep on board and go on daytrips organized by operators who will take them to the places that offer the best commission rather than the best experience.

In general, the hospitality industry may well do better to focus on the domestic market.
Foreign travel is becoming prohibitively expensive for South Africans and while they have struggled because of the recession and job losses, their natural optimism has been buoyed by hints of tax cuts next year.

The real tourist season has only just started, but there is a window of opportunity for South Africa. However, the tourism and travel industry has got to work together to make it as easy as possible and economically feasible to get here. And this means sorting out the problems at SAA and at airports very quickly.

Not much of a surprise

It is hardly surprising that the plans of the big groups in the hotel industry to cut the commissions they pay to travel agents collapsed so quickly. If there were a shortage of hotel rooms, there might have been some justification, but South Africa has an oversupply.

When the idea was first mooted, the future looked rosy. Few could have predicted just how hard times would become but when times are tough, the victims should have been looking for assistance and alliances, rather than trying to cut travel agents out of the loop. Some may feel that travel agents will eventually be replaced by the internet but already there are early signs that the number of households with internet access is declining in Britain.

A sensible decision

The decision to appoint Papi Molotsane as president of Fedhasa makes sense for a number of reasons. He is the first black man to head the organization which the government respects as the voice of the industry. When Hotel & Restaurant had lunch with him and a couple of Fedics executives last year he impressed as a listener, a thinker, a talker, a doer and an achiever.

Papi Molotsane is the type of executive that every organization would be proud to have. He will certainly have plenty of work to do at Fedhasa. Organisations such as this face difficult times especially when they have so many members with widely varying expectations.

More awards for H&R

We at Hotel & Restaurant have almost lost track of the number of times the South African publishing industry has recognized the editorial content of the magazine as the best in its field. But this year we did even better: Hotel & Restaurant was rated as one of the top three business-to-business magazines in the country.

In these days of spin doctors, press releases and subtle (and not so subtle) pressure from advertisers, the editorial team of Hotel & Restaurant is proud of the reputation that we have for independence and excellence. Of course we listen to what our advertisers say and we actively canvass and report their views and opinions, but we believe that the reasonable needs of the readers are paramount and that they want facts and fair comment, not the puffery and advocacy that make up so much of the content of journalism in South Africa today.

The publishing industry awards won by Hotel & Restaurant recognize the investigative, reporting, writing and editing skills of a small editorial team. But we are grateful for the support of the readers and the advertisers and the assistance of the production team headed by Shirley McDiarmid and the sales team headed by Elize Moffett-Ramsay.

Andrew Moth