http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALDEfIOYWkI

Wonderful career, tourism. But how many of us remember that?

I thought of this last week when I spent an awesome Sunday with Allan Robertson at his Stonehill Restaurant, in Little Brak River, near Mossel Bay - and realised that if I hadn’t been in tourism, I probably wouldn’t have been there.

See, we’d come to watch the filming of an episode for a cooking series with chef Pablo Massey for elGourmet.com (a web site and TV channel that broadcasts to all the South American countries - that’s 350 million people, by the way, 16 million of whom subscribe to the Channel itself).

Stonehill is situated on the Garden Route, just outside of Mossel Bay (take the Little Brak/ Fraaiutsig/ Reebok turnoff from the N2, travel 500 metres inland, and it’s on your left. You can’t miss it), and if you thought we Outeniqualanders couldn’t could cook up fine cuisine - you’re very wrong.

Executive Chef Tim Casten made a meal of fresh oysters - which he’d harvested himself (“We got all the right permits and licenses first,” said Allan) - followed by mussels marinier, and then a fillet of fish (which Tim also caught himself; he’s a spear fisherman, too) served with a fondant potato thingy, and - you’d never believe it - salt and vinegar ice cream (which Chef Pablo pronounced superb). And for desert, a rose petal ice cream with lavender jelly served with fruit caviar made individual bubble by individual bubble in a slow, deliberate process using guava and orange purees, and a cold mixture of - I think- sodium algernate, calcium chloride, and water.

Now how creative and interesting was that?

And the filming was enormously interesting, too - both from the point of view of watching a couple of great chefs at work, and because the crew are all Argentines, and it was good to meet and spend time with people from another country (and, too, because I’ve never met an Argentine I could dislike…).

And this is why I say we’re so privileged to be working in this all-absorbing industry of ours.

But I have to ask (you know me by now, there’s always something I have to ask) - how many of us have forgotten why we booked our seats in tourism in the first place?

What got me thinking along these lines was the point that Allan Robertson made that when tourists come to Mossel Bay, they tend to look for the chain restaurants, the franchises, and often overlook the local spots, and the small, lovingly tended places like Stonehill.

I think, though, that Allan might be looking at things from the demand side rather than from the supply side, and that the problem lies with us (the industry) rather than our guests - since, because so much of today’s tourism product belongs to the corporates, the buying public probably isn’t even aware that many of these little businesses even exist.

And I would argue that this is because we as an industry have lost too  many of our passionate, committed people - people like Allan, Tim, and their General Manager, Leon Coetzee, who tends the organic garden at Stonehill, and farms its earthworms. (Yes, its earthworms - they serve them warm, live, and wriggly … to the veggies, of course.)

So tell me - is there still room for great characters in tourism? Is there still room for individuals, for gifted amateurs even, for those eccentrics who’ve always put everything they have into making people feel welcome, rather than for bean counters who put everything aside in the pursuit of dividends?

And how would it change the tourism industry (even down to the level of its carbon footprint) if the pendulum began to swing back in that direction?

It would be very interesting to know…

(Visit Stonehill Restaurant at www.stonehill.co.za. Chef Pablo Massey and the elGourmet crew - producers Laura Krohn and Maria Hurtado, director Julio Hormaeche, and cameraman Gustavo Gómez Olivera - were transported by tour guide Matthew Pinker of Cape Town-based BengaAfrica, and stayed at The Point Hotel in Mossel Bay).

Now go away on holiday - it’s in the economy’s best interests.

Stands are 2×2 metres, 2×3 metres, and 2×4 metres in size, and will sell for R780.00 ex VAT per square metre. This includes a shell system with a 2.5 metre back wall and two 1×1.5 metre side panels (but no fascia), as well as the hire of a straw carpet, a slatted table and one director’s chair. Plug points can be ordered at R185,00 each (exclusive).

Stands are limited so book early to avoid disappointment!

Dates & Venues: 
Gauteng Outdoor Eco Adventure and Travel Expo: 28 to 30 May at the Kyalami Race Track & Exhibition Centre
Cape Outdoor Eco Adventure and Travel Expo: 1 to 3 October at Bien Donne Farm, between Paarl and Franschhoek  

Please visit www.outdoorexpo.co.za for more information, or book your stand with Shirley at shirley@outdoorexpo.co.za, telephone 082 443 2277

Experience the Adventure at The Gauteng and Cape Outdoor Eco Adventure and Travel Expos

We were a mixed group of product owners, guests (of which I was one), and - eventually - guides that night, and there was a general grumbling amongst those of us who were made to wait.

It was, said some of those present, “typical of guides.” And it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that type of complaint, or witnessed the type of behaviour that caused it. But I did feel that it kind of pointed to a much bigger problem that faces South Africa’s Tourism industry.

So as soon as I got home, I did the logical thing: I Googled ‘tourist guide code of conduct’ - and this link came up first: “ANNEXURE B http://www.environment.gov.za/Services/application_forms/Tourist-guide-code-of-conduct-ANNEXB.doc THE TOURIST GUIDE CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS.”

“A Professional Tourist Guide: Shall be welcoming and demonstrate an enthusiasm for South Africa,” and “Shall be punctual, reliable, honest, conscientious and tactful at all times.” (I would assume that the ‘conscientious and tactful’ bit extends to saying “thank you,” and “goodbye” to your hosts when you leave - which are things that not all of these very senior people stirred themselves to do when they left the lodge the next day.)

And, of course, as these things do, one Google search lead to another, and I landed on pages like

• Towards an ethics of tourism;
• Ecumenical Coalition On Third World Tourism - Code Of Ethics For Tourists  (an interesting one this - and from The Gambia);
• What is Eco-tourism?  (one that many of our ‘eco’ friends in South Africa’s tourism industry might want to read. They’ll find that simply using that tiny, emotive word in a company’s name or including it in its marketing material isn’t enough); and, of course,
• Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa.

And this got me thinking that if we’re going to re-think tourism (Time to Re-think South Africa’s Tourism Industry)   - or the marketing of tourism in South Africa (If We’re Going To Re-Think Tourism In SA - Let’s Rethink The Marketing Of SA),  then it’s time to re-think the ethics of tourism in South Africa, too.

And if you think there’s nothing wrong with our ethical standards, just two things to consider (1) Fair Trade in Tourism (have they certified thousands of tourism companies? No. Not even hundreds. They’ve certified only about 60 products in the whole country. Why? Because, I was told by a reliable source, most companies don’t want to be looked at too closely, nor to comply with things like the labour laws, and even minimum wage requirements, and you need to do those things to get the Fair Trade mark); and (2) the FIFA World Cup (not the competition itself - but almost everything that tourism has to do with it. See my articles ‘Price Gouging or Dumb Decisions?’  and ‘More 2010 Pricing Woes’).

While researching an article on the economic impact of tourism for another publication, I realised, perhaps properly for the first time, that tourism isn’t all Social Benefits and Oscar Nominations - and that there are, indeed, many negative things about our industry.

Sure, tourism improves economies, contributes (heavily) to the fiscus, and provides opportunities where they might otherwise not have existed. But..

• Tourism also has a very heavy carbon footprint (I’ve written about this before - tourism will never be sustainable as long as the transport industry isn’t sustainable. And the transport industry will never be sustainable until it stops relying on fossil fuels);
• Tourism may bring with it uncaring visitors who don’t necessarily respect local conditions (I’m thinking Mozambique and Namibia - you can’t drive on the sand dunes in South Africa, so you take your big, up-yours 4×4, and tear up the beaches and lichen fields in the African outback, because you’re less likely to get caught there. And screw the environmental reasons for keeping you off your beaches at home);
• Tourism often creates seasonal, usually low-paid jobs for unskilled people - and leaves them high and dry when the tourists disappear;
• Tourism may create economic dependence (when countries and regions rely too heavily on tourism instead of building mixed economies - and you know very well what that means when the tourist stream starts drying up);
• And there’s always the problem of leakage (the fact that a high proportion of the tourism dollar is often spent - or sent - back where it came from: a particularly pervasive problem in cases where big companies invest in large hotels and resorts in regions in which they are not resident).

For once, though, I don’t have the answers - because the questions are simply too far ranging, and the impacts of their answers too complex and deeply nuanced.

So allow me just to leave you with the few things from my own, personal experience of life that I most wish to teach my sons - because I think they’re universal truths. And, universal truths being the basics of all ethics, maybe you’ll agree that these old clichés could just as well inform where we’re going with tourism in this country, too:

• You can do whatever you like, as long as you don’t hurt anybody in the doing, and you accept total responsibility for what you’ve done;
• Respect yourself. It’ll foster respect in others;
• Have fun while you’re doing stuff; it makes it more pleasant for you and for those with whom you do it;
• Remove yourself from any situation that feels uncomfortable or threatening, rather than digging in your heels for the sake of power or your ego;
• And, of course, remember the single most important verse in the English language - the one where Polonius says to his son, Laertes (who is rushing to take ship for Paris, where he’ll be safe from the old man’s boring, long-winded speaches): “This above all: to thine own self be true,/ And it must follow, as the night the day,/ Thou canst not then be false to any man.” (Hamlet Act 1, Scene 3).

And now go away on holiday (thoughtfully, and with care for the people and the environment of the places you visit). It’s in the economy’s best interests…

There may be those amongst my readers who think I’m opposed to the World Cup. I’m not. I think if we manage it well from here on out, it has the potential to be the best thing that ever could have happened to this country - and even to its neighbours - because even if we don’t see the numbers of fans we were hoping for, we’ll get the kind of publicity that money can’t buy out of it.

But for me personally (and for many like me, I have no doubt), brought up as I was on a diet of cricket, rowing, athletics, and rugby, the World Cup has changed the way I see things, and introduced me to the magic that that simple, round ball brings to so many lives in Africa and beyond.

So when I opened the parcel containing my copy of ‘South Africa - The Big Picture,’ and saw that amazing cover shot of a boy playing with his football on a beach (against a background of waves, cliffs, stormy skies and - get this - a rainbow), you can understand why I came over all goose-bumpy.

You’ll recall that I wrote about hph Publishing’s little book South Africa – a Pocket Memento two weeks ago, and that I said it was definitely worth having - and worth giving (and for those of you who asked, and said they couldn’t find it in their local bookshop, its ISBN is 978-0-620-43699-1 and it retails at R125.00 inclusive. For wholesale orders, contact info@hphpublishing.co.za, or call +27(0)86 171 0327).

This latest work is the Pocket Memento’s big brother, and he’s a handsome brother indeed. Written by Ingrid van den Bergh and Joanne Pohl, with photos by Heinrich, Philip, and Ingrid van den Bergh, ‘South Africa - The Big Picture’ covers the same ground (our nine provinces, our cities, our cultural and natural heritage, the things we do, the way we eat and our national symbols) - but it does so on a much bigger scale.

I’m not always fond of coffee table books - they so often get looked at once, and never again. But I’ve gone through South Africa - The Big Picture so many times since it arrived, and I suspect I’ll be doing so regularly for a long while. So it’s definitely worth its R295.00 (its ISBN is 978-0-620-44168-1 - and, once again, for wholesale orders, please contact info@hphpublishing.co.za, or call +27(0)86 171 0327).

hph Publishing specialises in books for the tourism industry, and will print short orders with your company’s logo on the cover. Find out more at www.hphpublishing.co.za.

And now go away on holiday (thoughtfully, and with care for the people and the environment of the places you visit). It’s in the economy’s best interests…

There’s one really thorny problem that comes from being both a tourism destination and a developing country all in one: the fraught question of gift-giving (yes: ‘gift-giving’ - definitely not ‘gifting.’ Terrible word).

I was reminded of this recently when Margit Gatzweiler of Cape Town’s Sikelela Tours sent me a copy of a mail she had written to a local charity.

“I deal a lot with overseas tourists. I have had several complaints that R5:00 is added automatically to every invoice” in certain restaurants.

The donations are ostensibly used for the care of street children - and, while Margit agreed that the problems the children face are dire, she believed that this was “not the way to go about [soliciting] donations.”

And I agree.

The charity’s response was - predictably - unsatisfactory.

“Dear Margit

“Many thanks for your email and bringing these complaints to our attention.

“[Our charity] exist (sic) because there are children on the streets. These needy children are on the streets because they hope to receive money from well-meaning Capetonians and visitors to our city - which they do. This kind of giving unfortunately keeps the children on the streets. [This charity] gives Capetonians and tourists a way to give responsibly.

“It is however very important to know that … donations are always voluntary. Many diners embrace the opportunity to give more than the R5 and some diners decline to give.

“We most certainly don’t want diners to donate against their will. All they have to do is to notify their waiter and the R5 will be taken off their table’s bill.

“Hoping this will ease your concerns and provide an answer for the diners not wanting to donate.”

Well, yes, but…

The company’s e-mails carry all the right registration numbers, and even this quote from John Bunyan: “You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” But is it fair - and is it ethical (or even legal) - to add a ‘tax’ of this sort to a bill?

I think not. It’s a kind of involuntary purchasing, and similar to the type of scam - beloved of cell phone content suppliers - in which people are made to pay for something they don’t want until they instruct the seller to stop debiting their accounts (which they might or might not eventually do. But usually not without a fight). And it goes to the question of transparency - because most people are probably like me when it comes to paying their restaurant bills: I kind of estimate what the total might be (around so much per head multiplied by the six of us…), and then add a tip (if I want to), and leave it at that. I only check the bill item for item if the total seems too high or too low - so that ‘voluntary’ R5.00 that Margit’s guests have complained about would usually slip right through my cracks.

And John Bunyan might have had a point - although he would have done well to read Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon, 1135-1204), a philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and student of medicine whose best known work, the Mishne Torah (‘The Torah Reviewed’) contains a remarkably concise definition of the eight degrees of charity.

It’s worth repeating (I found this English text on the Maine Humanities Council’s site):

1. The highest degree, exceeded by none, is that of a person who assists a poor [person] … by putting him [in a position] where he can dispense with other people’s aid.

2. A step below this stands the one who gives alms to the needy in such a manner that the giver knows not to whom he gives and the recipient knows not from whom it is that he takes.

3. One step lower is that in which the giver knows to whom he gives but the poor person knows not from whom he receives.

4. A step lower is that in which the poor person knows from whom he is taking but the giver knows not to whom he is giving.

5. The next degree lower is that of him who, with his own hand, bestows a gift before the poor person asks.

6. The next degree lower is that of him who gives only after the poor person asks.

7. The next degree lower is that of him who gives less than is fitting but gives with a gracious mien.

8. The next degree is that of him who gives morosely.

(I kind of think Margit’s problem lies in level 5, which is pretty damned low - wouldn’t you agree?)

I asked my friend Jauckie Viljoen, of Back Road Safaris, what he thought of all of this (Jauckie’s the President of the Mossel Bay Rotary Club, and also the brains behind Meet The People Cares - a trust that channels gifts and donations from travellers to needy causes in Mossel Bay).

“Well,” he said.

“My opinion is that it generally does not work to give gifts. It’s the old cliché of ‘teach someone to fish rather than giving him a fish.’

“My experience is that, when you give something as a gift, then it is expected of the next tourist to also give a gift, and I have heard locals actually ask, ‘Did you not bring me a gift?’

“That is the worst case scenario as people keep expecting hand-outs.

“In Namibia there was the case where an NGO gave the ‘gift’ of a very fertile farm, with the first crop planted.

“The crop was harvested and all the proceeds spent - of course with the idea that the NGO must provide the next crop as a gift, too.

“When gifts do make sense is obviously around special days - like Easter and Christmas, when children can be given a token something with a ‘soft’ educational message built in. Rotary is planning to do an Egg Painting Day with children from a crèche this Easter - and so the kids will get an art class as well as Easter eggs to take home.”

But Jauckie has recognised that people from overseas are often moved to make donations, and that this needs to be done in a way that will be meaningful (and up there at Maimonides’ level 1). That’s why, for example, visitors on his Meet The People Tours can buy bricks from a local artisan who digs the clay from the ground by hand, moulds the bricks one by one, and bakes them all in kilns he builds himself.

“You can’t very well take a pile of bricks home with you in your luggage,” said Jauckie, “so Meet The People Cares will store them and eventually use them in a building project on your behalf.” And the traveller gets a certificate saying he or she did the right thing, whilst the brick-maker gets the thing that’s most important even in the smallest of businesses - turnover. (And BTW, If you didn’t think brick making could be a tourist attraction - you’re wrong. Check out Back Road Safaris’ Meet The People Tours here.)

And so the traveller has “assisted a poor [person] by … putting him where he can dispense with other people’s aid.”

If you search the pages of www.thistourismweek.co.za, you’ll find other examples of people and organisations who’ve been doing great work to help tourists to do the right thing -

• Uthando - Helping Tourism To REALLY Make a Difference
• 100th Calabash Trust Container Arrives
• So – How DO People In The Townships Feel About Tourism?

… and, of course, there’s the wonderful Footballs4Fun, which puts forward the idea that the ideal gift when you’re travelling in Africa is… a football (and if you don’t believe that it might be - take a look at this video I made about photographer Ian Fleming and his ‘The Ball And The Pen’ project, which is all about capturing the love of football in the townships of Knysna and the Eastern Cape).

Above all, though, these charities and foundations have one thing in common: they’re as open as they possibly can be.

And therein lies the rub.

Yes - tourism can make a difference in people’s lives. And - if you take just the examples I’ve written about in the past couple of years - tourism as an industry is probably in a position to do more than most to make that difference.

But it’s HOW you do it - that’s what’s all important.

SOMOHO TOURS & EVENTS

City of Cape Town Woman in Tourism 2009 nominee, Barbara of SOMOHO TOURS, runs a registered tourism company specialising in hassle-free, personalised tours for groups and individuals

“We offer exceptional value, and professional, reliable service for the conscientious traveller,” she said.

SOMOHO TOURS’ services include day tours; airport transfers; accommodation; incentive travel packages; tour packages for the local market; special events, exhibitions and festivals packages; and package tours for individuals, leisure, and corporate groups.

Go here for Facebook pics of their tour to the inauguration of the new Cape Town Stadium - and there’s a full description of the event here - on the Constantia Valley Association Newsletter.

Talking about the company’s experiments with Facebook and other social media, Barbara said, “We’re still taking baby steps to get out there and be noticed in the cyber world.

“We have lots to learn, and I’ve realised that if you play it safely, you’re not going to get anywhere.

“But this is a new year, and a new economy. The rules and the world have changed, and we’re basically all starting over - but we’re all in the same boat.”

SOMOHO TOURS’ website - www.somoho.co.za - is currently under construction, but you can mail Barbara at capetowntours@gmail.com, or phone her on +27(0)84 313 9570 or +27(0)21 712 2647 for all your transport, tourism and events needs in the Cape Peninsula.

Now go away on holiday - it’s in the economy’s best interests.