Tourism: Things will get worse

Pretoria - This year's tourism indaba in Durban will see many long faces, according to Mmatsatsi Marobe, chief executive of the Tourism Business Council, in reference to the annual tourism trade show which kicks off on Saturday.

At least 550 journalists - more than 200 of them foreigners - 1 761 exhibitors and 3 910 visitors have already registered for the indaba, one of the world's four biggest tourism trade shows.

The Tomsa (Tourism Marketing SA) levy, which accommodation entities pay to the Tourism Business Council, was R2.5m - more than 20% - down in the past month. This levy is calculated as a percentage of turnover and, according to Marobe, is always a good indicator of the state of the tourism industry.

She says in the current weak market tour operators will attempt to manage their own 20% commission, and owners of accommodation bodies will come off worst.

"Tourist groups are now smaller, which means they no longer require a 44-seater bus, but simply a 22-seater or just a kombi. Fewer airline tickets are bought and hotels sell fewer bed nights, while income from sightseeing drops off," she says.

"We expect things to get worse before they improve."

According to Marobe, businessmen attempting to protect their profit margins will probably opt to offer the public special deals at the last minute, rather than cut prices for early bookings.

This, she reckons, is a survival technique, but the public will catch on and adjust its buying habits.

Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) CEO Brett Dungan notes that tour operators could press for 30% to 40% discounts on ruling prices.

He believes it could take three to five years for get tariffs back to current levels.

- Sake24.com

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