Hidden Gems tourism-businesses shine at Africa’s Travel Indaba trade show
Africa’s Travel Indaba 2023 saw about 122 small businesses in the tourism sector, to showcase their products and services to local and international tourism buyers who came to discover authentic travel solutions at this year’s trade show. The small businesses at the Hidden Gems Pavilion did not fall-short of the quality of solutions to showcase to the world.
During his walkabout, Deputy Minister Fish Mahlalela visited small businesses showcasing their product and service offering came from all over nine provinces of South Africa, through the Department of Tourism’s Market Access Support Programme, and they have been offered an opportunity to showcase what they offer, form partnerships and secure new and potential clients for their business for growth at a 3-day trade show.
Presca Matjea of Daring Adventures in Gauteng – a fully fledged travel agency accredited with ASATA and a member of SATSA, having been in business of six year, they provide travel packers for clients across the country and SADC region, where they manage travel needs for their clients, keeping it tailor made to meet the needs of the client, making it exclusive.
“I was part of the Department of Tourism’s Incubation Programme with Sigma International, which started in April 2021 and we just graduated yesterday. We came to Indaba last year, which was our first year and we’re here again this year as exhibitors. And we also challenged ourselves to do Speed Marketing, where we got to present our offering to international buyers, and that has been one of the milestones we can highlight during this year’s participation at Indaba”, said Presca Matjea.
The programmes allow multiple platforms within the sector, for business to grow and create sustainable jobs for the sector. Mokete Mahamane from City Travellers and Tours, a travel management company based in a small village of Qwaqwa in the Free State said the challenges they’re facing at the moment is acquiring their own tools of trade to ensure they execute the client’s work without any hustles.
“The challenges that we have as a tour operator are mostly the shuttle services as we do not have our own transport at the moment, if we can be assisted where possible with one or two shuttles, as there are specifications that need to be matched to the client needs. And the ones we have on the ground do not match the specifications but unfortunately this is what we have to use at the end of the day to provide the service“, said Mokete Mahamane.
However, some of the businesses at the Hidden Gems pavilion shared positive insights on how their businesses have grown steadily and continued to stay open during and post the pandemic, as much there were difficulties as there business was halted during the hard lockdown experienced in year 2020 and 2021. These were sentiments shared by Glynis Lello of Madeline Gove Bread and Breakfast establishment in Morningside, Durban - KwaZulu-Natal, saying she's hoping tourism will continue to grow in the country and continent, and endless opportunities.
“We’ve been exhibiting at Indaba for about three years now, and we were very fortunate be incorporated into the programme that’s been doe through the Department of Tourism, and we’re called the Hidden Gems and we’re very excited for the opportunity post covid, we need all the assistance we can get the industry as a whole is grateful for the opportunity”, shared Glynis Lello when asked about her insights on being part of this years trade show.
Called Hidden Gems, these are the tourism businesses that provide a variety of products and services which need a market access platform in order for them to grow and play their part in creating jobs and contribute immensely to the sector’s economy.
According to the Deputy Minister, The Green Tourism Incentive Programme (GTIP) is a solution to resolve many of the tourism business challenges concerning electricity or the lack thereof, for sustainable growth and market access.
The GTIP is a resource efficiency incentive programme of the Department of Tourism whose objective is to encourage and support private sector tourism enterprises to adopt responsible tourism practices by moving towards the sustainable management and usage of energy and water resources.
The GTIP was launched in 2017 and through grant funding, assists private sector tourism enterprises in reducing the cost of investing in energy and water efficient solutions. Implementing GTIP funded interventions and identified solutions will not only ensure more responsible operations and environmental benefits, but after the projected payback period, the savings will continue to reduce the overall operational cost of the enterprise with direct and sustained benefits in terms of profitability and improved competitiveness.
This incentive programme is a project that the Department of Tourism pioneered, with the objective of encouraging and supporting private sector tourism enterprises to adopt more responsible tourism practices and move towards the sustainable management and use of water and energy.
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