Big Five Explorer

PRIMKOP Airport Management, the company that owns the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, says it is struggling with funding to prepare for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Marius Nel, director of the company, said they were working hard to get the airport ready for the tournament.

“We have applied to both the national and provincial governments for assistance in capacity expansions, but to no avail. Government departments refused to invest in us because we are a privately owned airport,” Nel said.

“We believe this will cause bottlenecks at our airport, which we will try to manage to the best of our ability,” he said.

Nel said this was not good for Mpumalanga as a host city.

“We have informed the airlines that will be landing at the airport that we will only operate as a drop-and-go facility,” he said.

He said the airport could handle about six to eight aircraft in good weather and four in poor weather conditions.

Nel said the airport would put up tents to extend terminals to accommodate the large number of passengers expected.

“We have hired 35 more people to enable us to work 24 hours a day during the tournament,” Nel said.

The upgrading and hiring of new staff will cost about R3million.

But Shirley Mahanyele, acting chief executive of Polokwane International Airport, said the facility would be ready for the World Cup passenger volumes by the end of April.

The airport is owned by the Limpopo government.

“We have upgraded our hangar into a domestic terminal, which is about 45percent complete,” she said.

“We have upgraded our apron and its marking for the planes ,” Mahanyele said.

She said the airport had procured two fire trucks for any emergencies during the tournament. She refused to say how much was spent on the upgrades.

Mahanyele said the airport, which had also converted its old terminal into a car rental building, was expected to handle about 300 World Cup fans an hour.

Mike Christoph , the operational manager at Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg, which caters for charter and business trips, said: “Our slots are 30percent booked and a fuel line is under construction .”

He said the parking area had been increased by 650 to about 3000 parking bays.

“We plan to handle 700 passengers an hour for 16 hours a day for the duration of the tournament,” he said.

Source: Sowetan (http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1128019)

Western Cape Finance MEC Alan Winde is considering naming and shaming overnight accommodation establishments which are found to be charging soccer fans excessive rates during the tournament.

He made the announcement at the V&A Waterfront, where the 6th annual Cape Town Tourism Destination Conference is underway.

Winde said they are just about ready to start welcoming World Cup visitors to the Western Cape.

The MEC said he was encouraged by a recent pledge by several tourism associations in the province. They have agreed to keep hotel, backpacker and restaurant prices reasonable.

For those who do not play the game, Winde has a surprise in store.

The MEC said if they receive reports of excessive pricing, they will investigate and might be forced to name and shame the culprits.

Source: Eye Witness News (http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=35918)

At midday on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, Cape Town’s major tourism role players will present a united front in the campaign against overpricing during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ when they sign the Code of Responsible Pricing for Cape Town.

Representatives of Cape Town Tourism, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Cape Town Routes Unlimited, FEDHASA, SATSA, Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa, Backpackers South Africa, and The Portfolio Collection will gather at Cape Town Tourism’s City Centre Visitor Information Centre for the signatory ceremony.

The event includes addresses by Cape Town Tourism CEO, Mariette du Toit-Helmbold, and Minister Alan Winde from the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, and Tourism.

Cape Town Tourism’s Du Toit-Helmbold said that the tourism body has been consistently firm in its stance on pricing and has embarked on an industry awareness campaign around responsible pricing and practice in the run up to the World Cup. “We have taken heed of the lessons that other destinations have learnt during global events in the past, and we have communicated these messages to our membership and the tourism sector as a whole,” Du Toit-Helmbold stated.

Cape Town is an immensely popular tourism destination; voted by the UK Telegraph as their readers’ favorite holiday destination in 2009. “We are intent on using the great marketing opportunity that the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ affords us to showcase the destination as a place to which you want to return. High prices and a lack of good service will not reflect well on us, and we are focusing all our energy on ensuring that not only our infrastructure but also our mindset is on target and ready to welcome the world. The Code is an industry tool to visibly and effectively manage perceptions towards a realistic and positive pricing picture of the Cape Town tourism industry,” commented Du Toit-Helmbold.

Cape Town Routes Unlimited CEO Calvyn Gilfellan said: “Viewing the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ as a cash cow will harm South Africa’s burgeoning tourism industry. Up to 290,000 extra visitors are expected to come over the five years after the tournament because of South Africa’s heightened visibility. The Code is Cape Town and the Western Cape’s united voice against price gouging.“

The Code of Responsible Pricing for Cape Town has been created around four core principles:

“Fair Value” means that the tourism sector will create fair and reasonable rates for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ that are linked to current seasonal rates.

“Responsible Tourism” underlies Cape Town’s commitment to be a destination that values and promotes social responsibility and environmental protection.

“Sustainable Tourism,” whereby businesses will be expected to be mindful of the interests of maintaining a legacy for Cape Town beyond the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

“Consumer Protection” against hidden costs and fees that surprise and annoy consumers.

“The Code of Responsible Pricing for Cape Town is a very important charter,” said du Toit-Helmbold, “As the leadership of the tourism industry, we are collectively committed to the code and the future preservation of a successful Cape Town brand. We are eager to ensure that Cape Town’s good reputation is not spoiled by greedy individuals out to capitalize on the short-term opportunities the FIFA World Cup™ offers. A few weeks of distorted pricing may well be at the expense of a responsible sector that has worked non-stop at putting this destination on the global map.”

Cape Town Tourism has committed to spreading awareness of The Code through their international PR network and through their relationship with members and stakeholders in the tourism trade.

Said du Toit-Helmbold: “For the most part, accommodation establishments in Cape Town are posting rates for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ that are equivalent to their peak season rates. A good indication of the public’s favorable response to this is that many of them are already fully booked. Average costs for a night in a centrally-located bed and breakfast are forecast at no more than R500-R800 (£40-£64.10), whilst an award-winning, four-star city hotel is charging on average R1900–R2400 (£152.24–£192.30) per night for a room. Renowned five-star waterside hotels are asking in the region of R5000 per person per night, sharing (£400).”

Source: http://www.forimmediaterelease.net/pm/3302.html

Most people made the mistake of leaving the marketing of accommodation for the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament in Fifa’s hands, and then resting on their laurels, says Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited.

The result has been an anticlimax.

Bookings for accommodation in Cape Town and the Western Cape generated by Fifa’s accommodation agent Match were not as good as initially anticipated.

In January, Match relinquished the right to let 65 000 available room nights in the host city of Cape Town.

For that reason, says Gilfellan, his company decided to put in a team effort and interlink all marketing efforts for the tournament to arrive at the best possible marketing impact.

These efforts include commitment to a code of responsible pricing, which will this week be signed by players in the local tourism and hospitality industry.

According to Gilfellan, price in particular is the biggest deterrent for prospective visitors to the tournament in the light of the international economic downturn.

Another unexpected trend is the less-than-anticipated interest in attending the tournament coming from people in other African countries.

In contrast the response from America has, surprisingly, been the best.

Apart from the late impact of the global recession on the continent, Gilfellan attributes the smaller amount of interest to an overestimation of the extent to which the digital revolution has advanced in Africa.

He explains that simply because people in Africa often have more than one cellphone, this does not imply that they are well connected to the internet, and Match’s marketing effort has principally been online.

He remains optimistic because, since foreign visitors will number less than the estimated 450 000, there will be opportunities for more South Africans to attend matches and find accommodation.

Source: Fin 24 (http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Channel=News_Home&ArticleId=1518-2386-2401_2576075&IsColumnistStory=False)

TRADE and Industry Minister Rob Davies wants funding from the Land Bank and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in place by the end of the next financial year to fund a massive afforestation programme in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu- Natal. Conservative estimates in a 2005 study identified 100000ha for new forestry in the Eastern Cape and 39000ha in KZN with smaller parcels in Limpopo and Mpumalanga concluding that the industry had the potential to create 15600 jobs. The forestry products industry ranks among the top exporting industries in the country and its exports in 2008 totalled R14.8-billion which, after deducting forest product of R11.3-billion – meant a net foreign exchange earning of R3.5-billion, a contribution of some 15% to the country’s trade balance.

The Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), released by Davies last week, notes that most of the forests are on communal land where “a number of value-added opportunities can be explored for smaller growers” currently supplying their timber to big companies for pulp and paper mills. IPAP says that opportunities exist to expand the small-scale milling industry and to use jungle wattle that would otherwise go to waste for charcoal production. The action plan says the issuing of water licences has become “a serious obstacle for forestry development” and communities are unable sometimes to afford the required environmental impact assessment.

It wants a national task team in place by the end of June to oversee the afforestation process and for the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs (DWEA) to have conducted reserve determination and hydrological surveys for targeted catchments within the same time frame. By the end of September, Trade and Industry will have appointed facilitators to mobilise communities and “provide capacity for them to apply for water use licences issued by DWEA and access capital”.

Funding for the EIAs will be provided by Asgisa EC and Trade and Industry. Davies is also looking at charcoal manufacturing enterprises in the Eastern Cape and KZN using jungle wattle – an alien species. He points out the market requires low levels of capital inputs, limited technical knowledge, uses unskilled workers and is labour-intensive. “The project has the potential of increasing participation in the rural areas, employment creation and skills transfer.” IPAP wants Asgisa EC to undertake the required EIAs in identified areas by the end of June and for the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) to train and register 12 cooperatives in communities with an interest in charcoal production within the same timeframes. The National Empowerment Fund and IDC must also provide funding for the enterprises by the end of September. IPAP is also looking at the biomass sub-sector for SMMEs and a feasibility study will be undertaken before the end of this year as well as a business plan developed before the end of March next year.

Source: Weekend Post (http://www.weekendpost.co.za/business/article.aspx?id=535623)