» » An Open Letter to Ms Maria Ramos, 8 November 2006 This Tourism Week: Newsletter on-line commentary and discussion about tourism in South Africa

THIS TOURISM WEEK Number 58 - Wednesday, 8 November 2006Brought to you By ChakariNetWebmasters for www.berghaven.co.za An Open Letter to Ms Maria Ramos

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Dear Ms Ramos Thank you for being one of the heroes of our economy. This country needs you and dedicated and brilliant people like you. But, of course, I have a question. As a commentator on the tourism industry, I worry that the industry isn’t sustainable because the transport industry isn’t sustainable - and my question is, what can we do to change that? And, of course, I have an opinion. The thing is, and here I’m speaking with the greatest respect (because I respect democracy above almost everything else), the thing is that it seems to me that the government has a monopoly on rail transport. Even if your ‘company’ is a ‘parastatal.’ In my mind, being a government function, rail transport should be supported by taxes - because that’s what taxes are for: to support us in our effort to create a better life for all. But your policy seems to be “we don’t want to be a drain on the fiscus! We want to make it pay!” - although it seems to me that “make it pay” (to you) equals “carry freight and not people!” Is this what’s caused your apparent lack of interest in commuter lines, tourism attractions and rail travel? Because your company seems to diss anything that has anything to do with moving people - except the Gautrain, of course. But please, Ms Ramos - how is the Gautrain going to help the people of Port Elizabeth or Knysna or even Cape Town (which is choking on its own vom… I mean vehicular traffic)? Our country’s transport plan (or lack of one) bothers me because it affects the tourism industry, it affects what’s going to happen in 2010 - and it even affects what’s going to happen to me later today when I get in my car to go somewhere. Because, like millions of people in South Africa, I have to get into my car - or take my life in my hands in a skorokoro taxi (which is something I’ll do only when they turn the volume down). And another thing - what happened to those romantic railway journeys of the past? Why’ve they died? Is it because they were only available to the select few? And if that’s the case, why were they allowed to slip away - instead of being introduced to the rest of society? But that’s enough of my complaining - I think you get the picture. Ms Ramos, you and your Company are responsible for our rail network, right? And around the world, companies like (yes) Virgin are successfully running private railways, right? So here’s my suggestion: you keep and maintain the fixed assets and set up an efficient train control system with, perhaps, a system of time slots that will allow, say, Midland Railways to use the Jo’burg - Durban line (Durban-bound) from 6 in the evening to 6 in the morning. And Egoli Railways to use it at this time. And Gauteng Railways to use it at that time… Kind of an air traffic control thing. Then once that’s in place, you can stop worrying about rolling stock and locomotives and let the businesspeople to do what businesspeople do best. Lease them the lines and let them run the business of the trains. And if you do that - who knows? You might even get praise from Trevor Manuel, who recently complained in parliament about the state of our roads - because, he said, it’s often quicker to fly from Cape Town to Jozie than it is to drive from your home in the suburbs to your office in the city.

That’s what I would do, Ms Ramos, if I wanted to unlock the value of our railways - and unblock the gridlock on our roads.

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Everyone who’s ever been there must surely have developed a serious soft spot for the ‘Berg. Those crisp, clear mornings; those frightening, thunderous afternoon storms; the snow and the heat; the human romances and the tragedies and the inspiration of it all - all against a backdrop of the dramatic Drakensberg Mountains.

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And, of course, their site - www.berghaven.co.za - was designed and is hosted by ChakariNet.

…Have a Great Tourism Week! MARTIN HATCHUEL - BarefootWriter VISIT THIS TOURISM WEEKBrilliantly designed by S² Web Solutions, www.thistourismweek.co.za offers back issues, useful links and a media room with downloadable releases and high res images. And remember to go to the Products and Services page to download my paper ‘Managing Perceptions - The Care And Feeding Of The Media.’ You’ll see I have a lot to say about managing the media during a crisis. … AND AN INVITATIONI’m always looking for subjects for feature articles in This Tourism Week. Please mail martin@thistourismweek.co.za if you’ve got information of broad general interest to more than 6,200 readers in South Africa’s Tourism Industry.

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ABOUT THIS TOURISM WEEKThis Tourism Week is a personal e-letter and informed commentary on issues affecting South Africa’s tourism industry. If you don’t want to read it, please e-mail unsubscribe@thistourismweek.co.za - but if you think it’s worth sharing, please forward this message to your friends and ask them to subscribe. Please note that the articles in This Tourism Week may only be reproduced with permission.Want it? Mail me - martin@thistourismweek.co.za. Back issues: www.thistourismweek.co.za This Tourism Week, 63 Wilson Street, Hunter’s Home, PO Box 2690, Knysna 6570