Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Orange River Floods Again
As I write the road to Boegoeberg Dam is impassable and the road bridge at Kakamas has been closed as has the aproach road for the Augrabies Falls National Park. The peak of this flood has still to reach us, so we expect more closures and damage. To see some of the pictures follow the links below:
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http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2101762&id=1525502476&l=bc5939caa4
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Sunday, November 14, 2010
Nuwe Voorsitter
Vir al ons lede en belangstellendes wat nie die Boegoeberg Eco Roete se
vergadering op Vrydag 5 November 2010 kon bywoon nie, sal dit interessant
vind om te weet dat mnr. Jaco Kriek verkies is as nuwe voorsitter van
hierdie vereniging.
Die Boegoeberg Eco Roete was verlede jaar deur die Byna Bo Landbou Unie
geïnisieer met die doel om toerisme binne die gebied vanaf Boegoebergdam tot
by Upington te ontwikkel en bemark. Carin Husselman en Graham Page was die
eerste voorsitter en ondervoorsitter en onder hul leiding is reuse vordering
die afgelope jaar gemaak om hierdie visie 'n werklikheid te maak.
Die webwerf www.boegoebergecoroute.co.za is deur Graham geskep om die
streek te bemark en Carin het behalwe al die ander verantwoordelikhede as
voorsitter ook die toerisme sentrum by die OWK proelokaal ingerig en beman.
Ons wil graag namens almal in hierdie streek, hierdie twee bedank vir hul
toewyding en persoonlike opofferings. Hulle was nie beskikbaar om weer in
hierdie posisies gekies te word nie, maar gelukkig is hulle weer op die
bestuur van die vereniging gekies en is ons gelukkig om hierdie kundigheid
binne die organisasie te behou en verder te benut.
Die nuwe voorsitter nl. Johan Kriek en sy vrou Liza met hul twee kinders het
hulle die afgelope jaar in ons streek gevestig. Die gesin is oorspronklik
vanaf Gauteng maar is passievol oor dié streek, dié natuur en sy mense.
Jaco en Liza ons weet julle sal baie gelukkig hier wees en baie sterkte met
jou rol as voorsitter van hierdie organisasie.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Wine cellars are "tops" at Spar
South Africa’s foremost retailer-driven wine competition, the Country Cellars Cellars Competition for the Winemakers and Viticulturists of Oranjerivier Wine Cellars, was this year dominated by the Grootdrink Winery in the Northern Cape. Grootdrink, one of the five wineries in the stable of Upington-based Oranjerivier Cellars walked off with the prizes for Champion Wine Cellar for 2010, Champion Winemaker (Johan Dippenaar), Best Red Blend (Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon) and Best Red Cultivar (Petit Verdot). This unique wine competition, now in its ninth year, aims to celebrate the relationship between the SPAR Group which includes South Africa’s top wine retailer – Tops - and Oranjerivier Wine Cellars, the country’s largest winery which also supplies the wines for SPAR’s own Country Cellars brand, as well as to incentivise winemakers towards improving wine quality. For this annual highlight in the winemaking calendar, winemakers from Oranjerivier’s five wineries – Upington, Groblershoop, Grootdrink, Kakamas and Keimoes – each submit a number wines, some of which are specially made for the competition. This year 29 wines from a total of 110 were entered into the finals tasting for scrutiny by a panel of judges. The judging panel for 2010 comprised Tinus van Niekerk, one of South Africa’s foremost wine experts who is also wine consultant to the SPAR Group, Joaquim Sa from cork company Amorim, journalists Neil Pendock and Fiona McDonald, retailer Caroline Rillema from Caroline’s Fine Wines and winemakers Guy Webber from Stellenzicht and Johan Joubert from Klein Zalze. At the awards function the judges were unanimous in commenting on the improvement in quality from wines emanating from the Northern Cape. “Having been involved in the competition since its inception nine years ago I can say that the improvement in the quality of the wine from this region is astounding,” said Caroline Rillema. “Focused production, lowering yields and the partnerships between viticulturalists and producers have led to a marked improvement in wine quality, with real excitement in both red and white categories.” The importance of viticulture in improving wine quality was emphasised through the introduction this year of the Khamkirri Award for Viticulturalist of the Year which went to Stefan Jordaan from Keimoes Winery. Ray Edwards, liquor executive of the SPAR Group, says the competition underscores the important relationship between Oranjerivier Wine Cellars and SPAR. “Oranjerivier is a major supplier of wines to our in-house Country Cellars wine range, delivering some 2,4m litres to us annually,” said Edwards. “This competition between the region’s wineries has become an important incentive for the winemakers and grape growers to continuously work towards making the best wines the area is capable of and showing the rest of the country – and the world – what Oranjerivier is capable of.” The full list of winners:
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Monday, October 18, 2010
E-mail Safety
The internet service providers association(ISPA) has some very good advice for your safety:
"419 Scams
A particular form of Internet based con job is that of using a seemingly plausible story involving large amounts of money, which the sender promises to someone who helps them out. Initially it involves the recipient sending a bit of their own money to the fraudster.
One of the more common frauds in the newspapers is that of the 419 scam whereby someone is sent an email allegedly from someone in West Africa claiming to have millions available with the help of the right foreign party who is able to help get the money out of the country, but often only if they can help with some initial costs. Some people have been defrauded of large sums of money already and some people have also been arrested for perpetrating the scam.
Reporting a 419 Scam (South Africa)
Please contact:
Superintendent P Allen
Commander of the 419 Task Team addressing Scams
Telephone: 012 401 3345
E-mail address: 419scam@saps.org.za
Also please fax the Scam documents, especially Nigerian Scammer banking data, to the US Task Force at 202-406-6930 appropriately marked South Africa – Loss ( or No Loss as the case may be ) – For Your Database. Please be SURE to state if there is any US Connection to your 419ers’ operations, particularly if there is US Banking Data on them. You may also email such relevant data,if you prefer to do it that way.
The South African Police Service maintains a 419 Scams/Nigerian Letters Alert on their website at www.saps.gov.za/crime_prevention/commercial_crime/419_scams/419_index.htm . For a look at a short Anti-419 Pamphlet issued by and available from the South African Police Service see image.."
You have been warned.......(again)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Tourism figures are misleading
The Government does not know what is a tourist
A recent visit to my house by the Department of Statistics proved to me something that I have thought for a long time namely that the Government does not know what a tourist is and therefore cannot plan properly for tourist market expansion.
The questionnaire of the Department of Statistics used a definition of someone whom travels more than 40km from their house as being a tourist and as we know, in South Africa this is most of the population on a daily basis. The statistics that are therefore made available for other Departments and business to make decisions upon are flawed and can lead to costly mistakes.
Let us look at what is a tourist?
The dictionary says a tourist is: “a person who travels for pleasure, usually sightseeing and staying in hotels, etc.”
The dictionary further tells us that a “traveller” is: “a person who travels habitually or commercially”
To this I would like to add my own definition, namely that of the “holiday-maker”: ”a person who travels locally in his/her own country to visit friends or a habitual location”
The last definition includes most South Africans at some time and also includes most arrivals from elsewhere in Africa. The spend of these people in traditional tourist businesses is virtually non-existent and cannot be included in any projections of potential income for tourist related companies.
If we take the holiday-makers away from the totals given by the Government then the picture looks very different. This affects mostly the rural areas such as here in the Northern Cape. We see many holiday-makers pass through our region, either on the way to Botswana or Namibia and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The business potential of these visitors is largely concentrated on the supply of fuel and food as they camp at their destination. The South African holiday-maker is also one who tends to travel great distances in a day to get to the final destination and as such even camp sites and chalet facilities along the way struggle to survive.
It has also been noticed lately that as a result of the economic downturn, even commercial travellers are not travelling as often or staying in as expensive accommodation as before. They have even resorted to bringing a tent with and camping in some instances.
The oft-quoted World Travel Organisation claim that for every eleventh additional tourist to an area, one new job is created, becomes somewhat blurred in light of the above. However, if we look at the broader picture of travel and tourism then we get closer to that mark. We have to realise that no matter what we do in the town, we are part of the tourism marketing potential of the area. No matter if you only answer the phone in an office, that friendly voice is an ambassador for the town and region. Good service to both locals and foreigners alike will increase the return visit percentage and in that lies the potential to grow the industry.
Those travelling on vacation believe there is some experience available elsewhere, which cannot be found at home and, which makes travel worthwhile. In the simplest of terms we can identify the main purpose behind the journeys which millions of people make each year. These can be broken down into four primary motives:
- Pleasure — this includes other features like adventure, relaxation, sightseeing and family re-unions.
- Business — which embraces both private enterprise and public activity like attending conferences.
- Health — including visits for treatment at Sanatoria and “spas” as well as getting away from emotional and business pressures (stress).
- Education — embracing a wide range of formal and informal studies.
The introduction of the Internet has made the tourist a more sophisticated being and has, as a result, raised the bar on service delivery and moral ethics of the industry. The green movement and “Pro-poor” tourism are the buzzwords of the day.
If we as South Africa are to keep up the momentum created by the world cup and turn this into real tourism growth we must deliver products that include the poorest of the nation in a meaningful and uplifting way as they are the key to success. Not only will this mean jobs for all but it will be a product that will be reasonably priced and ethically marketable as it does not include any exploitation.
So ignore what the Government figures have to say, we can grow our tourism in a meaningful way if we stick to the guidelines above and remember service is the Alpha and Omega.
Dr Graham Page
Tourism Business Consultant
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