The Way Forward with Martin Botha
Our industry is in a terrible crisis and as we enter the fifth month of our confinement the future remains uncertain. The pace at which our once finely tuned travel economy is unravelling is picking up every day and all stakeholders in our industry are in a fight for survival. Every day we are confronted with a growing list of casualties as livelihoods are lost across all sectors of our industry. Our tight-knit community of fellow tour operators, agents, hoteliers, lodge owners, airlines, transport providers and other suppliers will look very different when the virus is finally brought under control. As I ponder the end of the crisis and the resurgence of our industry, comparisons to previous global catastrophes like World Wars are unavoidable.
With so much at stake and with no certainty about how things will turn out in the future, I find myself looking back with immense gratitude on my career in the inbound travel industry that has been filled with rich and rewarding relationships, experiences, and opportunities to grow and develop both professionally and personally. We cover the globe when it comes to clients and nationalities, presenting us with fascinating insights into the ways of our fellow planet dwellers. On the supplier side our vast network of partners in Southern Africa exposes us to an impressive range of products that we match up with the needs of the travellers. One of the perks of our jobs is that personal experience of hotels and lodges is the best basis for making recommendations and so in the twenty years that I have been doing this I have been privileged to not only see the best that our country as to offer but also to meet the inspiring people responsible for the impressive properties and other tourism infrastructure.
Our business is complex on many levels and so there has seldom been a time where we have not been challenged to keep our ship on course. The past decade has seen online travel distribution moving to centre stage and this has forced us to join the technology race which is adding layers of complexity to our already intricate web of systems and processes. Underpinning everything that we do is the passion for sharing our country with foreign visitors, knowing that the uniquely African experience that they will enjoy will stay with them for a very long time and hopefully have them returning for more.
With the timeline for a recovery of our industry becoming more distant every day, we have had to brace ourselves for tough times in the months and years to come. This has necessitated the restructuring of the business which we believe will give us a fighting chance to survive as a company, and to emerge from this crisis poised to successfully participate in our industry again. It is with sadness and regret that we will be saying goodbye to so many of our friends and colleagues who have all contributed to the success of our business. During the many consultations with staff over the past two months it has been evident to me that we have succeeded in recruiting and nourishing the best of the best, which has made their departure so difficult. The courage and understanding of the situation displayed by so many people during the process has been humbling and we will always be grateful to these people for making our difficult task more bearable.
The company will be demanding much from those who will be moving forward with us into the storm. Rebuilding our business is going to take grit, determination, ingenuity and a belief in the future of tourism to South Africa. The indications are that the industry as we know it now will undergo some radical changes and we will have to rethink what we do and how we do things if we are to remain relevant in the value chain of tourism. The fortitude shown by our people throughout the downsizing process has left me confident that we have the purpose, character and company culture to move mountains.
