He holds positions on the board of South African Tourism and the Southern African Tourism Association and runs a successful tourism enterprise in Mpumalanga but Ikaneng ‘Oupa’ Pilane did not intend to work in tourism.

A series of lucky coincidences paved his way in the industry over the past 16 years.

Former spokesperson for then Gauteng Premier Mathews Phosa, Pilane worked in the public sector for 14 years.

“Tourism was not something I ever thought I would end up doing.” When he was looking to make his exit from the public sector, he believed it would be to consult on local government issues.

But, after a call from a friend asking him about where to stay in his home town of Nelspruit, Pilane began thinking of his prospects as a tourism operator. On a drive one day, he saw a house for sale in his street and considered starting a guesthouse. Later, he bought the house next door.

With preparations for the 2010 World Cup underway and Nelspruit experiencing an economic boom, he took the plunge.

But he still viewed tourism as a side hustle. It was only when he started working with businessman Robert Gumede, who was buying a stake in Tourvest at the time, that he really paid attention to the industry.

After leaving Gumede’s company (the Guma group), Pilane moved back to Nelspruit and started building his tourism portfolio. He joined the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism – and became its Chairperson in 2016.

“Lisa Sheard played a huge role in my tourism life. She wasn’t aware of it but she was a mentor to me.”

Her husband, James, became Pilane’s business partner. His other business partner, Campbell Scott, is the father of his children’s school friends.

Together, the three built the Graskop Gorge Lift – a scenic 51 metre glass elevator ride into the forested gorge that opened in 2017. The lift has become a major tourist attraction in the region, attracting thousands of visitors.

Pilane said, like the entire tourism industry, the area was hard hit by Covid, but smaller in-land areas are experiencing tougher recoveries especially if they’re outside the gates of major game reserves. However, he identified two clear opportunities.

“The international middle markets who can’t afford the prices of five star lodges are a key opportunity that DMCs may be missing out on because the commissions might not be as big.”

The second opportunity is tapping into the domestic market, providing affordable packages for travellers who might not be able to afford the Garden Route and the Western Cape in the current economic climate.

“The domestic market is under pressure and we’ve seen, in this economy, that people are struggling. But, if we look at Graskop Gorge data, we see that almost 70% are repeat visitors,” Pilane said.

“We aren’t expanding, which we can attribute to economic challenges, but South Africans still want to travel and we need to look at how to make it affordable.”

Pilane also said key to growing this local market, and transforming the tourism sector as a whole, is tapping into school travel.

“How do we begin to instil a culture of excursions? Lots of South Africans have never left the borders because that culture of travel doesn’t exist. It was eroded at school level.

“We know trips are largely influenced by kids so, when they take an excursion and we expose them, they encourage their parents to go back.”

He believes this interest will not only make tourism more accessible for more South Africans but start to transform leadership and ownership in the industry.

To do this, the education and tourism sectors “need to have a serious discussion,” said Pilane.

“Institutions of higher learning are producing students who are not employable in the tourism sector.”

As an example, he cited a recent discussion with third-year students in adventure tourism – none of them have ever travelled in their field.

“At Graskop Gorge, I don’t need someone to tell me about the theory of adventure tourism. Tourism is not theoretical – it’s 80% practical and 20% theory,” Pilane pointed out.

“They are producing people with general knowledge about tourism who are not adding value. The industry is struggling to find black managers and financial managers but they’re not being trained with modules that speak to the industry’s needs.”