Hello Again
Sometimes we all just have to sit back and take stock: where are we, where we’ve been, where we’re going. Which is why you haven’t heard from me and This Tourism Week for a while. But here we are again – and I hope that you’ll get involved as you did before.
If you’re new to the idea, a little bit about This Tourism Week: It’s written by me, Martin Hatchuel, a barefootWriter and partner at BarefootClients.co.za (you’ll find our storefront at http://www.barefootclients.co.za/). I’ve been writing for the tourism industry for the past eight years – ever since my own tourism business, the Kingfisher Ferry in Wilderness, was closed by the floods of ’96 (and was I correctly insured and protected against disasters of the natural and litigious kind? – No. But I’ve learned a thing or two since then, and hopefully I can pass some of that knowledge on to you).
This Tourism Week is a commentary on the issues facing our industry. It’s an independent publication that’s not driven by advertising, so the opinions you’ll find here are purely my own. I hope you enjoy what I have to say, and I hope you’ll join the debate – which will soon be live on line. But whilst we’re trying to figure out how to put a forum onto our site – www.thistourismweek.co.za please e-mail me directly: martin@thistourismweek.co.za
Oh, and there’s one very important thing – This Tourism Week is sent to a database of names which is jealously guarded and which I won’t share with anyone. This is, after all, an informal chat between friends. But there are, according to South African Tourism’s Annual Report for 2003, about 512,000 people working in this industry, and I do dream about the day when every single one of them reads This Tourism Week. So won’t you help me by passing this message on to your colleagues and asking them to subscribe?
B&B’s Liable For Stolen Goods
If you go to http://www.thistourismweek.co.za/ and click on Recent Newsletters, you’ll find that on 10 May, 2003, I published an article by Professor Patrick Vrancken, the Director of the Tourism Law Unit at the University of Port Elizabeth. It was titled Gabriel and Another v Enchanted Bed and Breakfast CC 2002 (6) SA 597 (C) and I thought it so important that I published it in its entirety.
I’ve mulled over that article almost every day since then, and anyone who has anything to do with tourists should be doing the same – because, although the defendants have given notice that they are to appeal, the implications of the judgment are scary. Whichever way the appeal goes.
The court found that the owners of a B&B were liable for the goods which their guests had lost in a robbery – a cool R250,000.
Prof Vrancken wrote that “The implications of this decision for small accommodation establishments are quite serious. It is suspected that many individuals operating B&B’s in South Africa are unaware of the liability that they could incur on the basis of the edict. As the amount involved in this case illustrates, such liability could well cripple the business to such an extent that no option is left but to close down. There is very little doubt that such an outcome would run counter to the interests of the tourism industry as well as the South African government’s efforts to transform the industry.”
Could your business stand that kind of knock? Mine couldn’t. And the thing is that I wouldn’t trust my insurers to protect me because it’s clear that our old friend the disclaimer/waiver/indemnity doesn’t have the power we’d like it to have. And even if I did have a disclaimer/waiver/indemnity in place, my insurance company would probably find an escape whenever something went wrong – and when it comes to paying out, you believe me, insurers spend a lot of their time looking for an escape.
So, What’s a Business To Do?
Well, I’ve recently discovered the joys of business trusts, and my partner and I have decided to begin the process of putting our own business into a trust over the next few days. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest, for us, are (a) that we’ll personally be protected if anything should go wrong, and (b) if one of us dies, the business will carry on running regardless – it won’t have to stop trading during the winding up of the estate.
If I were still in the business of hosting people, bedding them down, entertaining them or moving them around, I’d want the kind of protection a trust can give. But don’t take my word for it, please. My good friend and business guru Peter Caruthers – he of Pete’s Weekly fame – has made a study of what he calls Crash Proofing Your Business and he has some serious stuff to say about trusts – and the dangers of not being protected by one.
If you want more information on how you can benefit from having the ultimate in legal protection for your tourism business, drop me a line – martin@thistourismweek.co.za – and I’ll put you in touch with Pete and his legal team – they specialise in creating trusts so they’re fast, effective and inexpensive.
And yes, I know it’ll set you back about a few thousand and the tax rate may be marginally higher than it is for company tax – but aren’t those cheap prices to pay for the level of protection you’ll be getting?
Viva, FIFA, Viva!
We all knew it was ours, but go on, admit it. That 45 minute delay on Saturday afternoon was almost more than you could bear, wasn’t it?
Over the next few weeks I’m sure that I’m going to have a lot to say about Indaba 2004, but I’ll tell you this much: having been there and having seen the way that tourism is being handled at government level, I’m confident that our winning bid for the Soccer World Cup 2010 was well deserved. As Chairperson of Knysna Tourism, Jenny Smith, said: “there was a quiet air of authority (at the Indaba), a quiet air of professionalism … We saw that the government now looks on tourism as a long term thing which has to be sustained and grown – and it is to be commended for this.”
I felt the same thing. And I’ve come away from the Indaba – and from the euphoria of Saturday’s announcement – with a growing optimism, a belief that we’ll do the African continent proud in 2010.I’m looking forward to it, and I’m prepared to do my bit for it – and that’s another thing: during this Indaba I really got the feeling that this industry is pulling together; that each one of us has realised that we have a part to play and that we’re playing it.
… Which is why I know you’ll |
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About This Tourism Week – Subscribing & Unsubscribing
This Tourism Week is a personal weekly e-letter from tourism writer Martin Hatchuel.
Contact Me At
63 Wilson Street, Hunter’s Home, PO Box 2690, Knysna 6570
Telephone +27(0)44 384 1810; Cell +27(0)82 448 2140
martin@thistourismweek.co.za
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- … And, of course, I’m…
PROUDLY BAREFOOT & FULLY SOUTH AFRICAN
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