Archive for the ‘Travels’ CategoryBest buddiesThursday, November 12th, 2009If it’s Akela who’s best remembered during our travels, it’s Kenya the Staffie who makes the most friends. He is getting old, white-faced and stiff, and turns 12 in February 2010. Here Kenya’s even being necked by Bees the cat.  Kenya being necked by Bees So is it tourism; where is Destination Marketing?Thursday, May 28th, 2009I’ve learnt something interesting in Limpopo. Most accommodation establishments in this province aren’t really part of tourism at all — in fact, about 70% of all bednights spent in the province have very little to do with tourism. I define tourists as discretionary spenders — they have a choice and decide where they want to go. They are attracted by environments, leisure options, shopping, a stimulating place for meetings, etc. They have a choice. Now that 70% certainly doesn’t service a tourist market as defined by discretionary spenders — they have a captive market that mainly services the mines and other industries in their towns. They cater for the commercial travellers that have to visit a certain town. So why is this important? These establishments don’t need to participate in destination marketing, they just need to make their products known and a good relationship with the mines or whatever is usually sufficient. They don’t demand quality, stimulating and competitive environments because all they sell is shelter — a bed for the night rather than a compelling place to visit. Now this has a big impact on destination marketing and is one of the reasons that Limpopo is so badly marketed — 70% of the product owners have different needs. This also shows in the priority which municipalities give to tourism and destination marketing. It shows in the attention given in major towns to quality environments conducive to tourism. Two exceptions I’ve come across on Mopani’s Route 71 are neighbouring Tzaneen and Phalaborwa, where there seems to be a battle going on for South Africa’s national Cleanest Town of the Year Award. They are trying, but are they taking it far enough? Probably not but then tourism product owners who are part of the destination marketing effort haven’t banded together sufficiently, investing in destination marketing and demanding that their local municipalities do the same. Businesses that participate in their local destination marketing should be recognised, and Limpopo Tourism should accredit effective local tourist offices’s and encourage them with funding. Limpopo Tourism should not be running the local Tzaneen Info office! It is the local municipality’s legislated function and this only encourages them to abrogate their responsibility. What’s the most important difference between commercial travellers and real tourists? Real tourists spend more money and, if the enjoy their stay, they come back to invest in the area. They invest in property and businesses, but frequently they are also moved to help improve local communities. (Click here for an example.) Limpopo Provincial Government and Limpopo Tourism & Parks have provided little discernable leadership to date. There is no tourism legislation as exists in the Western Cape. There is no tourism business plan except for what’s in someone’s head (more on this in another post). It’s mind boggling that taxpayers funds can be allocated in the absence of an approved business plan! If I sound harsh on Limpopo Tourism, there appears to be some light. I met Morris Mabada (their new regional manager for Mopani) briefly yesterday. He impressed me! People set it apart!Friday, May 15th, 2009 Bruce Barritt, MD of First Car Rental, says it's people that make the difference IN A WORLD where global brands rule, there is a South African car rental company that is taking a wholly South African brand onto the world market. And its commitment to people – which is all that really differentiates one car rental company from another – is so great, that there was an in-house joke when they started that they had more staff than cars! I met up with Bruce Barritt, MD of First Car Rental, at Indaba in Durban. First Car Rental is a subsidiary of Combined Motor Holdings (CMH Ltd) which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. While First Car Rental is a relative newcomer in comparison to their competition (having opened its doors in 1999 as the National & Alamo brands), Bruce Barritt has a 30-year track record in the car rental industry. Bruce Barritt ran the National Alamo franchise in SA for nine years – winning numerous awards as the best global franchise – until the National Alamo EMEA brands were sold to Europcar… South Africa was really a by-product of an International transaction – without much consideration & after First Car Rental (then National Alamo South Africa) paid R180 million in royalties. But they had their own systems and a very loyal client base so the change to First Car Rental was smooth and their growth since then has been rapid. His first passion in the company are the people because that’s what sets the company apart. “We have very committed people at First Car Rental – they are the lifeblood of the business. This is a people business,” he says. He expects everybody within his compliment of staff to make the customer’s experience hassle-free and memorable. He is also committed to having the most user-friendly systems in the industry and their online systems are very, very good. They have been innovative, introducing a number of firsts in the local industry. The vision of wanting to move to a process where bar-coded vehicles and contracts replace the paper trail is more than 50% there, giving staff more time to interact with and get to know their customers. His biggest nightmare is losing the personal touch and not having direct and immediate contact with all FCR’s customers. “If something goes wrong, I want to pick up the phone and fix it,” he says. The in-house joke about more staff than cars started when they rolled out their very impressive national footprint. You can rent a First Car Rental vehicle almost anywhere in SA. The move to roll out the First Car Rental brand started in Mauritius and was followed by a former National Alamo franchisee in Malta who needed to be part of a international brand to keep his airport slot. A few other international franchisees are under consideration at the moment. Increasing the revenue stream is less important than the marketing footprint of a global brand and it’s with some pride that Bruce says that this is the first time a South African car rental brand has gone international. First Car Rental also has a servicing agreement with Sixt Rent a Car which is very strong in Germany and also has a presence throughout Europe, South America and the Asia-Pacific region. They have just launched Direct Transfer, a chauffered service that picks you up and takes you from A to B. Click the link to check it out. When CapeInfo started looking for a marketing partner and sponsor for Travels with Akela, FCR stood out as the most responsive, friendly and innovative. They are a delight to work with. Click here to rent your next vehicle. 
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