As the South African tourism industry gears up for the high season, industry leaders have expressed concern that there are a number of stumbling blocks halting the recovery of small businesses within the sector.
When industry leaders at the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) Leadership Conference in the North West province met in September to discuss and map the way forward for the travel sector, one of the key takeaways was that tourism SMMEs needed all the help they could get to propel their growth forward, especially after the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Globally, tourism destinations are dominated by small to medium tourism enterprises. South Africa is no different, with CEO of the TBCSA, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, pointing out that over 60% of South Africa’s tourism sector comprised SMMEs.
He emphasised in a recent TED Talk that SMMEs were the ones driving the industry. And, often, the development of new experiences to grow the diversity of a tourism offering in a destination is created by small businesses.
Tourism Update has put the spotlight firmly on some of the challenges faced by SMMEs – an issue that has been highlighted at both the TBCSA Leadership Conference and the African Tourism Leadership Conference, organised by Africa Tourism Partners.
Challenges include the need for mentorship, access to financing and the need for SMMEs to network and collaborate.
Head of Marketing and Communications of the online booking platform Jurni, Tshepo Matlou, told Tourism Update that digitisation and deployment of technology could play a big role in helping SMMEs grow and recover post-COVID.
Access to market is still a big hurdle
He said access to the market was a hurdle for many of these smaller businesses. “In this day and age, travel operators need to adopt digital marketing to reach new audiences rather than just trying to supplement a traditional marketing approach with a few small digital efforts,” said Matlou.
“One obstacle blocking this is the availability of marketing capital to travel SMMEs. Marketing a business can be expensive, and not having access to big budgets is a definite handicap for smaller accommodation providers such as B&Bs and guesthouses.”
An online booking platform, such as Jurni – that offers local SMME accommodation providers an affordable way to showcase their properties – is vital for the growth of the sector.
“It allows businesses to reach much larger audiences than they could have through their own efforts, and also helps to level the playing field within the sector. The knock-on effect of this is stimulated competition, which, over time, will improve the overall quality of travel products on offer in the market,” commented Matlou.
Underlying fear of tech solutions
While digital will undoubtedly help propel SMMEs forward, speakers at the TBCSA conference also discussed how many travel operators in rural areas and townships had an underlying fear of tech from a data-safety perspective. “This includes the fear of fraud and having their data stored in a cloud – a process they feel they have no control of,” said Matlou.
According to him, education is therefore key to address such fears among stakeholders. “Our clients are small businesses and we’ve been demystifying this old notion by creating workshops nationally and educating small business owners regarding the safety aspect of using a tech-based platform. We also provide the client with a signed agreement that speaks to maintaining the safety and integrity of their data when they are on board,” explained Matlou.
A centralised platform within a decade
Having a strong network of travel operators – one that will not only benefit customers but also the overall sector – is something many at the TBCSA conference expressed a need for. This could be addressed by a centralised booking platform within the tourism sector, a role that Jurni, as a booking platform and travel data repository initiated by the government, could take on. The suggested deadline for this is 2030.
“We will need to collaborate with other service providers in the market in order to scale up and integrate more online activity and accommodation providers to make sure that everyone is connected,” Matlou pointed out.
Jurni is a transformational project of the Department of Tourism, titled National Tourism Visitor Information System (NTVIS), that helps businesses in the travel space improve connections with source markets. The NTVIS brings integrated deliverables, which are the driving factors of inclusive economic growth and transformation in South Africa’s travel industry.
“We will need to collaborate with other service providers in the market in order to scale up and integrate more online activity and accommodation providers to make sure that everyone is connected,” Matlou pointed out.
