PO Box 1418, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa

April 2016
PRESIDENTS CORNER
Kind Skål greetings to you all, amidst a manic month of
shows, events and functions, I hope that it has been a
successful month for you all. With the Skål banner flying
high at the WTM Africa event at the CTICC and our
equally successful cocktail function at the Cullinan Hotel,
it was great seeing you all at the different functions. To
all those attending Indaba in Durban, have a safe journey
and successful event. Skål International Cape Town is
hosting a Travel Trade Workshop at Ratanga Junction
on the 24th of May, with 150 travel agents, PCO’s and
corporate buyers invited, this platform will open your
business to new segments of the industry, space is
limited so please contact Anne to book your table. Skål
International Cape Town was invited at WTM to attend
Parliament on the 03rd of May 2016 as a guest of the
Shadow Minister of Tourism for the DA, Mr James Vos.
I was invited to sit in on the Tourism Budget Debate and
was privileged to represent Skål International in the
decisions made on a governmental level.
Look forward to seeing you all at our next exciting event
at The Ritz Hotel, Sea Point, where Grant Newton, the
Director of Cape Town Tourism will be our guest
speaker.
TRAVEL NEWS
Hanekom: SA paying heavy price for new visa
rules.
http://www.fin24.com/Economy/hanekom-sa-paying-heavyprice-for-new-visa-rules-20160415
How on trend is Indaba 2016?
http://traveller24.news24.com/Explore/BusinessTravel/howon-trend-is-indaba-2016-20160415
VFS Global denies links to Guptas
http://www.etnw.co.za/tnweditions/Issue-23964May2016/index.html
MEMBERS’ NEWS
My final newsletter
Well folks as editor of this newsletter for the last three
years it is time for me to retire. I have to say it has been
a pleasure and with content provided from various
quarters we have received accolades from local as well
as international Skålleagues.
We have ensured that the newsletter provides up to date
information and that it gets to you by the third of the
month. The Club now wants to move forward with more
modern technology and a more modern look.
As from May 2016 Rory Goldhill will be responsible for
the Newsletter and Website. I on the other hand will now
be able to concentrate on my personal life more. I thank
you for giving me the opportunity of serving the club in
this manner and I wish you all the best for the future.
Regards Rodney Strydom
MEETINGS AND SOCIAL NEWS
At every Skål Cape Town
function you attend we ask
that you please feedback
your positive experience to:
APRIL 6 to 8th WTM
We
received
interest for new
member sign ups
at WTM Africa
2016 for all clubs
in South Africa and
even
clubs
abroad,
the
potential members
attended
the
Cocktail
party
hosted by Skål
Cape Town, and
they are signing up
for membership in
their home countries.
The exposure for Skål International to be at these
international Trade Shows is vitally important, and as the
World’s largest Tourism marketing organisation will
continue to be represented.
The Skål International stand was vibrant and informative,
and this drew some interest from those that did pass by.
A lot of our members visited the stand, and also bragged
to their friends of the association they are part of.
Prizes – We are truly grateful for your support.
Iain Harris, Coffeebeans; Louis Rohner, Double Tree by
Hilton; Colleen Rens, 2 Oceans Aquarium;
Philip Engelen, Brooklands House; Sandra Engelen,
The View @ the Terrace; Nadine Swanepoel, The
Diamond Works; Yolande West, Tsogo Sun Cullinan,
DeWet DuPlessis, Intundla Game Lodge; Wayne
Bezuidenhout, Citi Shuttles; Michelle Smith, Harmen
Scandanavia Skål; Lara Mostert, Monkeyland; Pieter
Eloff, Fairy Glen Game Reserve; Gary Geyer, Bush
Stay Luxury Lodges; Niel Els, Turnberry Boutique
Hotel, Helena MacPhail, At the Rocks
If you would like to donate a prize please contact
Michelle Andrew on 078 916 2419.
MAY 4 Young Skål Networking
A fun filled
evening spent
at Hotel Verde
with Green and
Blue
Skalleagues.
The
evening
kicked off with
some welcome
drinks and a
treasure hunt,
show
casing
the marvellous Hotel Verde and its impressive “going
green” footprint.
The treasure hunt was followed by a lovely Earth Hour
Dinner and smooth sounds of our very own Vernon
Kirsten as well as entertainment provided by the hotel.
A huge Thank you goes to, Malika Mahomed, Chantelle
Rix, Carol Bayne & Shirley Brown for all their hard work
in making this event such a success.
We would like to thank the National committee, Skål
Cape Winelands, as well as the awesome Skål Cape
Town members for attending.
A big Whoop goes to our prize sponsors: XL Ocean
Air, Keyside Conferencing, Hotel Verde, Thali Thali
Game Lodge, Citi Shuttles, Jewel Africa, Air Namibia
and White Sharks Projects.
NEW MEMBERS
INTERNATIONAL WORLD CONGRESS
SKÅL SOUTH AFRICA
Apology to Enver Mally
We omitted to mention in the previous
newsletter that Enver retains the position of
National Senior Vice President.
Active: Melany Bendix, Director/Editor, Bonsai Media
(Pty) Ltd, Marius du Plessis, Owner, African Hoopoe
Tours, Faried Jones, Managing Director,
Businessentials for Hospitality, Carl van der
Westhuizen, Managing Director, Afriunique Tours (Pty)
Ltd
OTHER S.A. CLUBS
Lunches of other clubs are scheduled as below, so if you
are around these locations on due days, do join in.
Cape Winelands – Last Thursday.
Durban – Third Thursday
Garden Route – Third Wednesday
Johannesburg – Third Friday
Nelson Mandela Bay – Second Tuesday
Pretoria – Third Thursday
As and when notices are received, these are sent to you
SOCIAL MEDIA
YOUNG SKÅL NEWS
Networking Dates 2016
30 June, 25 Aug, 27 Oct and for yearend join
Blue Skål.
It would be awesome to see more Blue
Skål members attending these functions.
GREEN NEWS
Time to rethink lion interactions?
The influence of social media
Perhaps the greatest risk worth noting is the
reputational risk in the age of social media. Before the
advent of social media, the focus remained on risk
avoidance or minimising asset or financial losses.
Today, with over half of the world’s population
connected to the internet, companies need to relate
enterprise reputation matters to strategic outcomes. In
a world increasingly influenced by social media and
instant global communications, managing customer
expectations and perceptions is critical to success.
http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/357/143841.html
Free Walking Tours Cape Town
http://www.tourismupdate.co.za/article/108577/Time-to-rethink-lioninteractions
BIRTHDAYS
Happy birthday to all:
Penny Lotz
Charmaine Beukes
Marius du Plessis
Eloise Liebetrau
Hennie Senekal
Michael Hunter-Smith
Rodney Strydom
Agostinella Ribero
Philip Morse
Frank Glettenberg
Lee Botti
Cany Bugler
Alan Romburgh
Yolandé West
Helen Turnbull
Nicki Delmulle
Chantelle Rix
Jill Wagner
Sarah Prins
Judi Buikman
Michelle Whitehead
Louwrens Smit
Glenda Paterson
Joanna Hurlston
08 May
09 May
12 May
21 May
23 May
25 May
27 May
28 May
28 May
30 May
30 May
31 May
01 Jun
02 Jun
03 Jun
05 Jun
10 Jun
13 Jun
14 Jun
16 Jun
17 Jun
20 Jun
26 Jun
30 Jun
NEW VENUES
We continually strive to find new venues for our
networking activities. Please contact Michelle Andrew
078 916 2419 or Wayne Bezuidenhout 083 281 1193 if
you have suggestions.
A joint event between Skål Cape Town and Travel
Massive hosted the InstaTwittFace Social Media walk
along with Free Walking Tours Cape Town on the 14
April 2016, although the turnout was low, the experience
was enjoyed by all and we will endeavour to put another
group together for future. This was a marketing initiative
put together by Jacqui Cooks our resident social media
guru, and we encourage you to join us next time for this
fun event.
PARLIAMENTARY REPORT
As mentioned above, Skål International was invited by
Minister James Vos to attend the Tourism Budget
Debate in Parliament on the 3rd of May, and this was an
interesting experience. The different Ministers had their
opportunity to table their debate points around the
Tourism budget for the next fiscal year, and the statistics
of tourists for 2016 has had great growth compared the
same time last year. January 2016 saw 15% more
tourists, and February 18% more with over a million
tourists coming into our country through the major hubs.
Certain nations tourist figures have increased with
Chinese tourists more than doubled compared to last
year, while India having experienced problems with visa
applications, have also increased. The main focus for all
involved is make tourism sustainable and to create more
employment opportunities for people in South Africa,
with rising numbers of students leaving tertiary education
establishments and unable to get work, Tourism is the
fastest growing industry and can be the saviour in this
dilemma we are facing. Points were raised around
upgrading tourism related products in all corners of the
country with local municipalities urged to get involved
and grow domestic travel, as well as the government
being urged to speed up the roll out of electronic visas
for guests travelling to our shores.
The good news is that the website is now fully
operational however we have had a vulnerability
warning and to protect the database the decision has
been taken to suspend development of our current
directory code & database and to migrate to a
commercial system in May.
When FAQ are ready to start the data transfer they will
suspend access to the database for a few days to
export & import the company data into the new system.
Once completed all company data will be removed from
the current community sites and be managed with a new
central company admin system (including company
promotions). We apologise for the inconvenience and
trust this will resolve the issues we have had recently.
PROMOTIONS
Some of your Skålleagues have taken the bull by the
horns and advertised specials on the Skål website. Visit
the site or contact them and see what they have to offer.
What have you got to lose?
See you soon, until then!
Rory Goldhill
PRESIDENT
REMEMBER TO VISIT THE WEBSITE
GALLERY FOR PHOTOS OF ALL EVENTS.