THIS TOURISM WEEK Number 66 - Tuesday 29 May, 2007

Brought to you By Knysna Leisure CraftBuilders of the Knysna Leisure Liner & Knysna Leisure Ferry

Yapping About Yapta
A word to the wise: remember to buy Business Day on Friday, 1 June - You’ll see the first of my articles in their Tourism Business Supplement‘The Tourist’
Just back from the Indaba in Durban and all fired up about tourism in South Africa. Everybody I know who was there says it was excellent, brilliant and inspiring. And it certainly produced the goods.But…Last week I went to listen to a speech by Rick Taylor, head of the Business Tourism Company and a good friend of This Tourism Week. He called his presentation The Road Runner Millennium (after the comic character who always gets done whatever it is he wants done in the most unconventional way) and in it he examined the changes and trends we can expect in tourism in the years running up to 2020.(See? there is life after 2010 - in fact I agree with Tim Modise, who said at the Indaba’s Global Media Face Off that 2010 should be seen as a catalyst rather than a target for development in this country).The biggest message I got from Rick was that the past is dead and buried. Especially in tourism. Plan for tomorrow, he said, because you’re going to spend the rest of your life there.And that’s when I had my light bulb moment. Suddenly, I realised what was missing at this year’s Indaba.Innovation.As great as the show was (and it was great), what I missed this year was finding out about new and exciting things. And I’ve often seen new and exciting things at the Indaba - but this year, everything seems to have slipped into a quiet bed of comfort. Sure, everyone was doing roaring business. But it was the same business (albeit more of the same) than last year.Nothing so scary as a comfort zone - because just when you’re relaxing is when things tend to jump out at you from the blind side.Things like Yapta.Now I believe that Yapta is something that’s going to change the way we do business in the tourism industry. Radically. According to its site - www.yapta.com (Yapta means “Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant”) - the concept began when “Ryan Allsop, a thrifty traveler from Bellingham, WA, asked his brother, Brett, if he knew of an easy way to find out when prices drop on the flights he wanted to take (Ryan knows what he wants, but he is quite frugal about getting it.) Brett looked into it, found out there was no easy solution for ‘airfare tracking and alerting,’ and decided that he could build a software tool to do that for people. Brett called his pals and former colleagues [and] together they’ve been working diligently over the last year, along with a talented team of developers, to build a system for getting people great deals on travel.”So what Yapta does is it continuously scans a raft of airline sites and checks their fares - and then alerts you when they drop. Which allows you to buy the ticket you want at the best possible price. All you need to do is download a small programme, Yapta Tagger, and enter the trips you want to make (yes, Yapta lets you track many trips at the same time). Yapta will even alert you if an airline drops the price of a ticket you’ve already purchased - so that you know when you’re entitled to a refund.And all of this in one location.Of course Yapta isn’t universal (can you see any of our more precious domestic carriers agreeing to give you a - gasp - refund?), and, as far as I can tell it only searches about eight airlines - but think about it for a moment: soon we’ll be seeing similar applications for all sorts of similar things. Planning a trip to Jozie in December? No problem - tell us what level of accommodation you’re looking for and we’ll trawl the sites looking for special offers (which often change according to availability) and let you know about them.And no. This isn’t a last-minute booking engine. It’s way beyond that.The possibilities are endless. And it’s worth noting that until last Tuesday, when Yapta was launched, there was no central portal for finding - and keeping track of - this kind of information - but now here I am yapping about Yapta. See how quickly things change?As Rick said - yesterday’s gone. As has yesterday’s Indaba - and that’s why I hope, for all our sakes, that innovation returns to next year’s show.
Brand New Ferry Boat For Sale - Ideal for Lodges, Bird & Game WatchingKnysna Leisure Craft, builders of the popular and well-known Knysna Leisure Liner (the 4-berth GRP houseboats made famous by Lightleys Holiday Houseboats in Knysna) has a brand new Ferry Boat that’s looking for a good home. Designed by world-renowned naval architect Angelo Lavranos, the Knysna Leisure Ferry is powered by twin outboard Honda engines and can accommodate up to 29 passengers and two crew. She is 7.8 metres (25 ft, 7 inches) long and 2.76 metres (9 ft, 1 inch) wide. She draws 45 cm (1 ft, 2 inches) of water and she displaces 2,100 kg (4,620 lbs). Her superstructure includes a moulded fibreglass roof with integrated lights and loudspeakers as well as storage nets for life preservers. The spacious, moulded passenger seats are aligned in rows across the beam to allow maximum visibility for all passengers and a central aisle provides easy access. The pilot’s console and a service bar are fitted in the rear of the vessel. She’s an export-quality boat (in fact, the first export order for Knysna Leisure Liners was completed in January this year) and is ideal for inland waters and for game viewing and bird watching.More information from Owen Groenenstein - owen@houseboats.co.za or call +27(0)82 653 6744. Or visit www.knysnaleisurecraft.co.za
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