Tuesday, September 21, 2010

TU News : Taking a stand against poaching? Tell us about it!

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Taking a stand against poaching? Tell us about it!

Another five rhinos were brutally slain by poachers in the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve over the past weekend. The rhinos, found with their horns sawn off, bring the total number of rhino deaths since January to a startling 210, a 50% increase from last year's total of 140, and an average of almost 18 deaths a month.

Today, rhino poaching operations are slick, well-funded and professional, with the use of night-vision scopes, silencers and even helicopters regularly used to carry out their illegal and cruel missions. 

Desperate times have called for desperate measures, with many operations, including most recently, Likweti Sanctuary in Mpumalanga, taking the difficult decision to dehorn its rhino population. Others have taken an even more controversial approach, with threats of injecting cyanide into rhino horn to drive down demand, which mostly stems from Asia.

Wednesday, September 22 is Rhino Day, a campaign spearheaded by the World Wildlife Fund and several partners to encourage the public to help support South Africa's rhino warriors. The WWF is calling on all concerned citizens to dust off their vuvuzelas and make as much noise as possible at 13h00 to send a message to leaders that the time to take serious and effective action against rhino poaching is now.

The time has come for industry to come together and take a stand against poaching. We want to hear from you, email us at editor@tourismupdate.co.za and tell us what you're doing to combat poaching and we'll publicise your contribution.


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This service is provided by Tourism Update, an online tourism product, news and destination platform for overseas and local trade packaging Southern Africa.
Should you wish to register for free access to this site, please visit www.tourismupdate.co.za and click on the 'Register' link. Your registration will be processed within one day.

Contact editor@tourismupdate.co.za for further details.

Friday, September 17, 2010

2010 - The year it became fashionable to do good

As we welcomed 2010, the year of Africa's first ever Soccer World Cup tournament, all eyes turned to the countdown of what is the world's most watched event. As a nation, our focus and energy turned to nation branding and nation building. But the months leading up to June 2010 were uncertain as we battled our own doubts and European tabloid newspaper reports of "machete-wielding gangs". We battled predictions that crime would make it the most dangerous World Cup yet. We battled reports of low foreign ticket sales and empty stadiums. But as you well know, we surprised the world and ourselves, and FIFA President, Sepp Blatter gave us a 9/10 rating for our hosting success.

But something else happened; something which wasn't predicted or prophesied. The World Cup created a tipping point for many in our country. But it's not a tipping point that political analysts or economists are able to quantify, or will even talk about. It's the tipping point that has mobilised the real South African citizen in the movement for good (I say "real" because there are many who claim to own South Africa but don't know a thing about being citizens).

It wasn't only government who made the World Cup a success. It was the 15 000 citizens who volunteered. It was the construction workers who built the stadiums, the men who built the Gautrain, the hospitality industry staff who made tourists feel welcome, the everyday South Africans who were friendly and accommodating wherever they encountered foreigners, and the taxpayers who paid the billions to host the Cup.

South Africans experienced patriotism like they hadn't felt in years, or maybe ever. The camaraderie and shared experiences of ordinary citizens gave strangers a sense of belonging and left us with the realisation that we are able to achieve what we set our minds to. The world gushed about 'ubuntu' ("I am what I am because of who we all are") as we marvelled that not all is 'doom and gloom' in South Africa. Our new self-image and the positive media reports boosted our confidence. The South Africa citizen could say, "I can make a difference".

Following on from there, we have seen a movement for good spreading throughout the country, so much so that it has become fashionable to do good. The launch of LeadSA on August 4th has seen some 20 000 South Africans signing up to the Facebook page within the first two weeks. During August's three week public sector strike action that brought hospitals and schools to their knees, South Africans came out in numbers to assist (http://bit.ly/cTsTG5). I loved that for the first time ever, I had a compelling sense of urgency, rather than a nagging sense of obligation, that I was needed by my country and I was able to volunteer after mobilising some non-medical friends like myself, via Facebook.

And there's more coming: Heartlines' much-anticipated Forgood platform that aims to mobilise citizens through a "Facebook with a purpose" is being launched before the end of September. A "Bless the City" initiative, organised by Christians in Johannesburg for the weekend of 12-14th November, is an opportunity for citizens to initiate or join projects and activities that will impact the city for good.

A personal example I have, also speaks of this "for good" wave: I am being featured in the November 2010 edition of Oprah magazine where I have the opportunity to share on "How I LeadSA" - sharing how I, an everyday South African, do my bit for my country, not how I keep fit or how I build my success! Never would I have imagined that doing good would become quite so fashionable.

Studies have shown that the people who suffer the least depression and hopelessness in life are those who give of their time to help others. Personally, getting swept up in the movement for good has given me a new passion in life. I'm a multi-tasker and have always wanted to connect my work with exercising my faith at a grassroots level and the movement for good has finally made this sense of duty a reality. My journalism career is now feeding into nation-building activities and I am able to give around one day per week to serve my city. I am stronger, more focused, more diligent than before and I have a new sense of calm in my career as I've discovered what motivational speakers call the "sweet spot".

A country where it's "each man for himself" leaves each of us powerless to overcome our challenges. But who knows what good is to come of all we're investing - if we can ride this wave long enough, "for good" may very well become more than just a fashion trend.

by Julie Cunningham Editor: SA - The Good News

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Zimbabwe and Zambia plan to work together to rebrand Vic Falls
08 Wed, Sep 2010

The tourism ministries of Zimbabwe and Zambia have pledged to work together to review and renew plans for the management and marketing of the Victoria Falls as a key tourism destination.
According to a report in Zimbabwe's The Herald a recent visit from a Zambian delegation to Zimbabwe resulted in plans for the governments to work together rather than rely on private investors.
The report says the tourism ministries are considering a paradigm shift in the perception of the World Heritage Site status of Victoria Falls, as currently the destination is not making significant economic gains as a result of its status.  Also under review is the name 'Victoria Falls'.
 
Ross Kennedy, member of the GotoVictoriaFalls.com campaign says he is aware of the ongoing discussions by authorities from relevant ministries with consultants to relook at the Victoria Falls Master Plan that was launched many years ago by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).  "This plan sets out to ensure that development is within current best practice and recognises the World Heritage and iconic status of the Victoria Falls," says Kennedy.
Regarding the role of the private sector in promoting the destination, Kennedy adds: "The private sector has always, and will always play a key role in interfacing with all relevant authorities with regard to tourism development in the region.  GotoVictoriaFalls.com is a shining example of the collaborative efforts within the greater tourism body in Zimbabwe to support and enhance the marketing efforts of the tourism ministry and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority to promote Victoria Falls' status as a regional tourism hub."

Friday, September 3, 2010

Red flags, scenarios and our future
By Steuart Pennington of www.sagoodnews.co.za  3 September 2010

During the past week, I came across the opinions of four South African influencers that showed just how difficult it is to decide what is perception and what is reality!

The first was that of Gavin Lewis of the DA labelling me as "indefatigable but muddled in my pursuit of 'good news' " as I wrote about the Business Day's reluctance to engage in the Media Tribunal debate. Make of that what you will, but as Judge President Steyn (caretaker of the Namibian Independence handover) said when criticised about his role, "it's like a duck's water running off my back!"

The second was an article by Allister Sparks, "The swift trashing of our World Cup image" (Business Day 18 August 2010) in which he claims that "a few weeks later (after the World Cup) our government seems to be going out of its way to blot out our new image of investors beginning to reassess us as the realisation spread that South Africa was different from the rest of what many still perceived to be 'the hopeless continent' by delivering a series of public relations disasters".

I am not sure that Africa is a "hopeless continent" anymore, but read on!

The third was an article on a talk delivered by Adrian Gore at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit earlier this month, "We're our own worst enemy" in which he points out how dramatically the world is changing, in many respects to South Africa's advantage, and in which he laments that "paradoxically, South Africans remain negative and skeptical". He says "we are caught in a 'will we, won't we survive' paradigm where we are constantly seeking affirmation of inevitable decline. It is my view that South Africa's problems lie in these negative attitudes, not in its fundamentals. Importantly these attitudes are not always rational". (I wonder if Gavin Lewis read this?)


The fourth was a business breakfast I attended addressed by Clem Sunter "South Africa's economic prospects post 2010" where he did his scenario planning review which he has become so well-known for, claiming, "it's better to be vaguely right rather than precisely wrong!" In summary he pointed to three possible global scenarios:

Scenario 1: "Hard times 'til 2016"

Scenario 2: "New balls please – recovery in 2012"

Scenario 3: "Living in a two-speed world"

Essentially he pointed out that there is a growing difference in the economic prospects of the developing versus the developed world and that the economic growth prospects for Asia (+/- 5%), Africa (+/- 5%) and South America (+/-5%) are significantly greater than that of Europe, UK and USA (+/- 1.7%) and that this is good for us.


In turning to South Africa he used the soccer analogy of Premier League, Second League and Failed State.

Premier League                    

Second League           

Failed State

57 Countries (SA 44th)

+/- 120 countries

+/- 50 countries


He pointed out that we are part of the Premier League of the top 57 nations of the world, that we had moved from 33rd to 52nd and were now on our way back at 44th and that after the success of the World Cup, we could well emerge back into the lower 30's.

But he warned of 'red flags' that could move us towards a failed state (reminding the audience that Zimbabwe up until the mid 90's had growth at +/- 7%, then...land grabs propelled the nation in five short years into 'Failed State' status).

 

The 'red flags' in South Africa's case are:

Violence

Threats to media freedom

Land

Mines nationalization

 

Sunter then reviewed the challenges we need to deal with to stay in the Premier League:

  Inclusive leadership, patriotism and national pride. "We give Mr. Zuma a tick in this regard; so far he is demonstrating the characteristics of inclusiveness".

  Exploiting our pockets of excellence rather than smothering them with mediocrity. "We are truly capable of world class performance in so many areas, we must leverage this, and we must celebrate our successes".

  Building an inclusive outward looking economy. "We remain an exclusive economy, we need to concentrate on adding value to our rich resource base, building our tourism based on our World Cup success and establishing ourselves as the pre-eminent 'gateway to Africa' ".

  We absolutely must "incentivise our ability to become an entrepreneurial state, entrepreneurship is the engine-room of growth".

 

But it was the audience's reaction that confounded me!

I think the audience was genuinely astonished at his optimism and his message that "we have it within us to grow in stature as a member of the Premier League". Certainly, if the questions are anything to go by, some people came to the presentation with a 'we are in the Second League and slipping' mindset and others with a 'get real Mr. Sunter, we are already a failed state' mindset.

Which, finally, brings me to my point. We had a magnificent 'jol' as a nation during the World Cup and the world moved from an afro-pessimistic perception of our country and continent to one of growing afro-optimism. I personally received several letters, slideshow presentations and articles from foreigners who, as one correspondent said "I knew of your www.sagoodnews.co.za website but thought it was 'sunshine journalism' I could not have been more wrong, you live in an incredible country with amazing people, even you don't appreciate how fortunate you are!"

 

I don't think that these perceptions will change because of strikes, proposed media curbs (which won't happen), and mutterings from the youth about mine nationalization. These things happen in all countries in one way or another most of the time (during the 2007 Rugby World Cup there was a 'flat-out' municipal transport strike in Paris - no underground, no buses, no taxis, hardly anyone outside Paris noticed and the local newspapers were not full of 'PR blunder' doom. And, check out strike records in both the developed and developing world - South Africa does not stand out, in fact, we hardly even feature when comparisons of work days lost are made).

 

So who is right? Gavin Lewis and Allister Sparks or Adrian Gore and Clem Sunter? Maybe that is an unfair question, maybe we should say they all are, but it does raise the question of what informs our national narrative?

 

The National Planning Commission

National Planning Commission Minister Trevor Manuel and thirty or so intellectual heavy-weights are tasked with spending the next 18 months developing our 2020 Vision. They are going to need to take us along with them, we need an informed narrative, one which understands and focuses on the 'fundamentals' as Adrian Gore refers, one which creates a shared debate on the different scenarios that confront us as Clem Sunter refers, and agreement on what 'red flags' there are out there that could get in the way.

In my view our biggest 'red flag' is how we talk about ourselves; how we talk about our challenges; how we maintain perspective and how we talk of our future. Negative and/or positive self-fulfilling prophecies are a reality.

We must not allow 'bad news' to be the only thing we talk about, write about, and read about! It is not ALL that is happening!


POST SCRIPT: I couldn't help being amused by one of the conversations I had with an enthusiastic German visitor at the Billy the Bums pub in Durban prior to the Spain/Portugal game. He said, "Bad news is like ze toothache ja, it is briefly of great concern, needs dealing wis urgently, creates panic unnecessarily, and is felt accutely! But when it is over, it is quickly forgotten – but, everyone has zis...ja - nobody holds zis against you - and no-one dies from zis!

Good news is like ze losing weight ja, no-one is interested in your progress, no-one talks about how you are doing, no-one applauds your efforts, but everyone wants to be part of your result". In Germany we have zis all the time...ja!

As a nation we will suffer from toothaches often and we will need to lose weight regularly, but staying healthy is what remains central to all of us permanently!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

TU News : Winelands go "Google-eyed"

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neil <stumble@iafrica.com> thought you may be interested in the content below.

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Winelands go "Google-eyed"

South Africa is leading the world by having its wine estates listed on Google Street View to create the most comprehensive database of wineries imagery in the world. 
 
Google is currently adding 19 more South African wine estates to Street View after 12 were loaded in June when Google launched Street View in South Africa ahead of the Soccer World Cup, says Google SA's Communications Manager, Julie Taylor. Its initial offering in South Africa also includes amongst others 27 towns and cities, seven soccer stadia, the Kruger National Park and Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, totalling about 65 000km of images.
 
Street View - offered free by Goggle to invited destinations - adds another dimension to Google Maps with 360-degree street-level images taken by Google cars and trikes, which take nine pictures every 10m.  It allows Google users to view and navigate through streets and cities and now also through vineyards and historic farm buildings. Google is also running workshops for Cape wine farms to teach them how to use its geo tools to improve their online presence.
 
South Africa is the first country in Africa to get Street View imagery in Google Maps, the most popular map service worldwide. Launched in 2007, Street View is now available in more than 100 countries, on more then 350 000 websites and in 40 languages, now also including Afrikaans and Zulu. It is the largest photographic project ever done by mankind. 
 
Comments Cape Town Tourism CEO, Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, "With the success of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it is important to keep the momentum going and continue to showcase what South Africa - and particularly Cape Town - can offer as a tourist destination. The expansion of winelands imagery on Street View will no doubt encourage local and international tourists to come and explore this part of the country further." 
 
Richard Cheary of Afrozaar, a mobile and web solutions company, sees the marketing capabilities of Google's geo products expanding.  "Google Maps and Street View capabilities provide a powerful platform to be creative, for example, the creation of downloadable virtual tourism tours, incorporating multimedia. This can be complemented by mobile applications, comprising travel directions and preloaded tourist information." He says all tourism businesses can benefit from Street View technology by embedding Google Maps directly into their website free of charge, helping them to promote their services.
 
How to use Google Street View
In areas where Street View is available, you can see the images on Google Maps (on a PC or Internet-enabled mobile) by zooming into the lowest level, or by dragging the orange "Pegman" icon on the left-hand side of the map onto a blue highlighted street. By moving the mouse you can take a virtual walk through a street. To get directions from Point A to Point B, your route will be highlighted in blue on the map. Street View also incorporates images uploaded by Internet users through other websites such as Flickr, the image hosting website.  This enables users to blend the Google imagery with the other images for a more detailed view of the virtual surroundings. 
 
Google says to safeguard privacy Street View only contains imagery that is already visible from public roads and features technology that blurs faces and license plates.  Users can also flag images for removal that they consider inappropriate by clicking on "report a problem".  To learn more about Street View, visit www.google.co.za/streetview.

 


Click here for more news :www.tourismupate.co.za


This service is provided by Tourism Update, an online tourism product, news and destination platform for overseas and local trade packaging Southern Africa.
Should you wish to register for free access to this site, please visit www.tourismupdate.co.za and click on the 'Register' link. Your registration will be processed within one day.

Contact editor@tourismupdate.co.za for further details.