On The World Cup, Young People In Tourism, Empowerment, and Using Genuine Taxis

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ON The World Cup, Young People In Tourism, Empowerment, and Using Genuine Taxis

I’ve got a treat and an eye-opener for you this week.

Just before The Great Software Crash caused This Tourism Week to go off air for a while (at the best possible time, of course), I received a mail from a young man who had something to say – and who was willing to share it with you.

“My name is Zolani Kunene and I am 24 years old. I’m a Corporate Communications graduate from Helderberg College in Somerset West. I’m a keen photographer and I’m a terrible golfer. I’m a Seventh Day Adventist and I live life to the full. I love the outdoors and sharing my culture with people. I’m in the process of starting my own business in hospitality (and it’s proving to be more involved than I thought, not to mention difficult) and I am waiting for a response to my funding application.

“I am passionate about people and the tourism industry in this country. My goal is to be a major player in this country’s industry, and to do my part in making tourism great.”

Mr. Kunene had originally responded to an article from Cape Town Tourism that I’d posted on This Tourism Week: ‘2010 FIFA World Cup Was Never Pledged As A Solution To All Social-Economic Problems’ (oh, it wasn’t?).

“I like the fact that township tours are so popular,” he said, “but I’m not so sure that the social responsibility is injecting any change to the circumstances of the people.”

So I challenged him: what, I asked, would he like to see coming out of this World Cup and the tourism that has resulted from it?

Here’s his well considered response:

2010 is here and we are all feeling it. Many people will want to see the famous townships that they heard about in the news. Tour operators will be taking guests and their cameras on tours of Soweto, Nyanga, Kayelitsha, Gugulethu and many other townships, all of them financially deprived but culturally flushed areas.

While many of us have been educated about the tourism implications of this great event, I had hoped we would have empowered the masses to see the World Cup as a milestone and not a destination. This opportunity should have been used as the beginning of a journey to success. Had we done that, I think we would not have had so many people disappointed with how much they are getting out of this tournament – especially the poorer areas of our society.

So, why and how do we empower people?

We empower people by giving them the resources and responsibility of managing their own futures. Educating people on the benefits of tourism means nothing if they cannot apply that to their lives. Empowerment means people are given the ability to make CHOICES out of the options they have. This means that individuals can now use the resources available to make conscious decisions to change their lives.

‘Sustainable development is the integration of social, economic and environmental factors into planning, implementation and decision-making, so as to ensure that development serves present and future generations.’ (National Framework for Sustainable Development – July 2008)

With regards to tourism, and township tours in particular: giving the people in the townships the resources to run their own township tours would be empowerment. Those people would no longer be dependent on operators for external means of income, but realize for themselves the benefits of tourism first hand. Educating people in business management, marketing, brand image, pricing and most importantly customer service will equip our people with the skills to better their lives. It takes drive and passion to run a business and the people in the townships would have to want to change their circumstances.

Partnered with the abovementioned resources, they can provide a first-rate service at giving these tours – some of which have instead ended up being reduced to human safaris instead of being cultural experiences.

Who better to give township tours than the people who live in that environment daily?

People take ownership of something that they possess, and not something they don’t have to work for; and they are even more possessive if it’s going to bring needed change to their lives.

I believe that townships today are brands, and that is why they attract such a huge interest among tourists, with each township having a distinctly different environment. The township dwellers need to own their brand image, and showcase their unique culture and talents. They need to develop a product that involves different small businesses in the township, so that everyone benefits and owns the brand.

People take ownership of those brands by providing a good service to local and international guests (without charging excessively high prices) and by showcasing characteristically authentic South African culture and talent.

Treating our environment, community and guests with the respect they deserve will change our tourism industry forever, and make a valuable contribution to only township tours but to the industry at large.

In order to attract customers, our Township tour operators will have to have the right products. We nee to have products that offer an authentic experience to our guests; products that get them involved and taking part in the township experience. We already have tours that have people staying over in B&Bs in Soweto, and it’s products like these that will change the face of township tourism. Guests can also take part in making local arts and craft that they can take to their countries and advertise the township that they visited.

What better way to market your brand internationally?

With good service and unique experiences, we will be able to market ourselves in an authentic and uniquely Mzansi way.

What about Government?

Government needs to make sure that economic conditions are favorable, if small business is to have any chance of succeeding. Getting a start- up loan is not as easy as it is made out to be.

Interest payable on these loans is exorbitant, especially for the ordinary man in the street. Furthermore, such people are expected to pay taxes on their profits, which compromises the sustainability of their businesses.

We need to be able to encourage people to take part in our economy, but that won’t happen as long as it remains difficult to get a business off the ground.

However, there are interventions in place to assist small business development.

THETA (The Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Education Training Authority), for example, offers grants for SETA-accredited training institutions to afford people training in scarce and critical skills in tourism, hospitality and sport..

The ideal situation would be to have the big internationally recognised inbound tour companies partner with local township-based township tour companies. Together, they can work at bringing about a sustainable tourist market. Big business can then stop making donations to communities, thinking they have done their bit for society.

We do need our big inbound operators to do their bit because they are the ones who have market share, experience, resources and inroads into the coveted channel.

Currently, social responsibility only benefits those who are fortunate enough to be in your scope of interest, or those that happen to be a part of the project you have chosen.

Social responsibility funds should be utilised to finance potentially sustainable projects instead of making donations so that big business reports can look colorful. Sustainable change, with the goals of rural and township development, poverty alleviation, and positive economic output, will positively affect more lives over a longer period of time, without exploiting local facilities and valuable resources.

We also need to consciously promote our townships to South Africans as well – some of whom have never been into the townships and are content with looking at them from the high-way.

A good example of how we get South Africans to go and see our townships was the Super-14 semi-final and final. I saw white South Africans taking part in local Soweto culture and wishing they had done it sooner – with some even boasting they would be riding in a “genuine taxi”.

We need to bring more sport events and other prestigious occasions that are usually held far away from our townships, closer. We need to embrace our culture-filled townships for what they are, and stop wishing they would go away because they make us look bad.

They are not going anywhere. They are a product of a huge social injustices.

We need to actively involve everyone in taking part in the development of our townships, and thereby taking part in our economy.

What better way than through tourism?

South Africa’s biodiversity provides an important basis for economic growth and development, with our tourism industry thriving on the diversity and abundance of wildlife and heritage. We need to protect our resources – and one of the best ways to do that is by empowering people to manage our resources and pass this knowledge on to other generations.

We are privileged to live in a country with such a potpourri of culture and facilities.

Let’s just make sure we leave a timeless legacy so that those who come behind us may find us faithful.

Zolani Kunene. June 2010.

      

HEADS UP

• Visit my Jobs in Tourism Page:  it’s a free service to job seekers, and there’s a modest fee for companies offering positions;
• So you think social media marketing’s not for you? Perhaps you should read this article:  Mossel Bay’s The Point Hotel Joins Joins Expedia Insiders’ Select List

This Tourism Week was brought to You by Motion Mag – CD & DVD Printing & Reproduction for the Tourism Industry.

Enjoy the next round of the World Cup!

• Visit my Jobs in Tourism Page:  it’s a free service to job seekers, and there’s a modest fee for companies offering positions;
• So you think social media marketing’s not for you? Perhaps you should read this article:  Mossel Bay’s The Point Hotel Joins Joins Expedia Insiders’ Select List

This Tourism Week was brought to You by Motion Mag – CD & DVD Printing & Reproduction for the Tourism Industry.

Enjoy the next round of the World Cup!