The thriving township tourism sector in Cape Town seemed to have suffered a disastrous setback at the start of December when Anni Dewani, on honeymoon from the UK, was found murdered in Khayelitsha after entering Gugulethu with her new husband in search of night life.
But according to Skye Grove, a spokeswoman for Cape Town Tourism, the sector is already recovering with registered operators reporting a return of business now that the international tourism season has started this month while extradition proceedings against the murder victim’s husband progress.
Grove said that in the week after the murder it was widely reported in local and overseas media that at least 25 group tours of Gugulethu were cancelled.
People in the townships who have become entirely dependent on tourism – ranging from guest houses and restaurants to cookery schools – were in despair at the prospect of their business drying up.
The effect lasted about two weeks after the murder.
Cape Town Tourism and other organisations tried to counteract it by sending out messages on international networks pointing out that thousands of visitors had safely enjoyed township tours and overnight stays in approved accommodation and stressing the need to avoid unescorted visits late at night.
Now, according to Grove, business in Gugulethu and other townships is looking up again as planes arrive with high passenger loads, mainly from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the US. Most of these visitors were well informed about South Africa. And obviously they have been reassured by what appears to be a strong case for Anni’s husband, Shrien, to answer.
The efforts of his highly paid publicist in the UK to save him from being extradited to face trial in this country by suggesting he has been set up to save our tourism industry may have been helped by the unfortunate fact that our police chief, Bheki Cele, has called Dewani a “monkey”.
But the UK judges who will decide on the extradition will realise that the decision of a South African court will not depend on the opinions of our police chief and that, especially with the spotlight of global attention on the case, a South African judge must be seen to be scrupulously fair.
A less pleasant thought is that morbidly inclined tourists, reassured that they can safely enjoy township tours, may actually be attracted by the prospect of seeing where it all happened in the same way that tourists visit London’s Whitechapel to follow in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper.
Wine
South Africa’s reputation for quality wines rather than large quantities at affordable prices is increasing, as some of our estates win awards in Europe.
In South Africa R5.8 million was spent on entering local competitions in the past year, enabling the winners to impress potential customers with eye-catching stickers attached to their bottles – and, in most cases, increase their prices.
But is it worthwhile unless it helps consumers choose a wine they enjoy and results in higher sales for the producer?
An investigation by Wineland, the magazine produced by Vinpro, the umbrella organisation for the industry, suggests that this is not necessarily the case.
Winemakers and marketers were emphatic that winning medals, and the publicity arranged by the competition organisers, resulted in an increase in sales of between 10 percent and 20 percent, or even more if the competition was run in conjunction with an authoritative wine magazine. They said that in an increasingly competitive market an authoritative endorsement was imperative.
But some people, respected in the industry, disagreed with this. Wine writer Neil Pendock said that, with one or two exceptions, wine competitions were “money making schemes for the organisers”, which some of the best producers never entered.
However, the number of competitions is increasing. There were 10 380 entries for 20 competitions in South Africa last year, raising R5 755 905 for the organisers – up from 19 competitions attracting 10 000 entries and raising R4 453 399 for the organisers in 2009.
Taxis
It is very difficult to find something flattering to say about the taxi industry. It has a reputation for being violent, rowdy, disrespectful to fellow road users and having no regard for traffic rules.
Of course, there are people in this field who are decent human beings and it can be quite unbelievable when one discovers that they are part of this industry.
Though the sector is one of the oldest in the country, it has been somewhat informal for many years and there were no rules that guided it; everybody did as they pleased. However, this is gradually changing with the government slowly introducing a minimum wage for employees.
The industry also has quite a few partnerships with firms in various fields, and stakeholders in the sector are making efforts to shed their bad-boy reputation by contributing positively to society.
One way they are doing this is through a bursary scheme that the KZN Taxi and Commuter Corporation has introduced. The beneficiaries will be dependants of taxi operators and taxi drivers who have been enrolled to study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal for selected degrees.
According to the advert, the bursary will cover tuition fees, accommodation and an allowance for food and books. Successful applicants will be expected to work using their qualification in the industry for up to one year for every year of financial support after they have qualified.
In a nutshell, the taxi industry is contributing to skills development in the country and that has to be applauded.
But as a colleague pointed out – one hopes the body will indeed pay up and not raise needy students’ hopes for nothing.
Edited by Peter DeIonno. With contributions by Audrey D’Angelo and Slindile Khanyile