GLRU Youth Day Celebrations

The Golden Lions Rugby Union held Youth Day celebrations on Thursday, 16 June 2011 at the Turffontein Race Course in Johannesburg.

The event was attended by Lions supporters, former legendary players and a few of the MTN Lions players. 

Entertainment was provided by singer Jaco Dennis, followed by a fascinating speech from Mr. Junior Ramovha from Tshisima Sports who shared his experiences from the 1976 Student Uprising in Soweto.

Attendees were treated to a scrumptious buffet lunch before heading outside to place some bets and enjoy the horse racing. An auction was held in the afternoon where sport and rugby memorabilia were sold.

All proceeds from the day will be donated to the Abraham Kriel Children’s Home to help and support the youth of today.

Source: www.lionsrugby.co.za

Our Johannesburg office organised a table for clients and are happy to report that the day was a huge success. 

Lunar Eclipse – June 2011

A total lunar eclipse will be visible from South Africa next Wednesday, 15^th June 2011, the South African Astronomical Observatory says. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon moves into the shadow of the Earth, preventing the rays of the sun from striking the moon. It will be visible completely over Africa, and Central Asia, visible rising over South America, western Africa, and Europe, and setting over eastern Asia.

"Though lunar eclipses happen at least twice a year, any given eclipse will only be visible from certain parts of the world. Furthermore, total lunar eclipses are also rarer," said the observatory.

The eclipse will start happening at 8.23pm and the total eclipse will last from 9.22pm to 11.03pm.

"During the total lunar eclipse, the moon will most likely have a dark copper red hue on it. This is because a great quantity of the blue light will be removed by the earth's atmosphere through scattering of small particles, letting mainly the red part of the sunlight through."

Guests visiting our country should be encouraged to view it.

The next total eclipse will be visible from SA in September 2015.

Source: News24, Mail & Guardian

Snow falls in Namibia

The article below is featured in today’s edition of ‘The Namibian’:

Severe frost, below zero temperatures, rainfall and a possibility of snow are on the cards today in the southern parts, central parts and northern towns such as Otjiwarongo and Outjo. Forecasters at the Namibia Meteorological Service warned yesterday that today temperatures will be even lower than yesterday, when icy tentacles of cold already forced many Namibians across the south, central and northern parts to grab their winter coats out of their cupboards.  The Meteorological Service warned of “very cold conditions” for which they should take appropriate precautions.

Meteorologist Odillo Kgobetsi yesterday said that most parts of Namibia, except the extreme northern parts, can expect temperatures to remain below 10 degrees Celsius today, with minimum temperatures of minus two or three degrees in many parts. Yesterday already, several towns in the south reported temperatures of not higher than four degrees during the day, and reports came in of rain in the Spreetshoogte pass.

Areas situated close to South Africa’s northern borders will be hit hardest, Kgobetsi confirmed. “Most of the temperatures ... will go to a minimum of minus two or minus three in the southern areas, as well as the central parts,” he said. With low temperatures and high levels of moisture and the possibility of snow in some parts could not be ruled out for today and last night, he added.

According to Professor Kobus Botha, a weather expert based in South Africa, Namibia is sure to receive “enormously cold weather” today. Today, however, is expected to be the worst of the current cold system, Kgobetsi said yesterday. By tomorrow, temperatures will begin to “improve slightly” and by Friday temperatures will rise even more. End.

Please note that we have not received any reports of interruptions to travel in the abovementioned areas.

The truth behind the arrival stats

I can understand the frustration of the tourism industry when they read and hear in the media that arrival foreign arrival figures are up yet they are not experiencing an increase in occupancies. The reasons for this are multiple and depend, to a greater or lesser extent, on where a tourism business is located and which market it is targeting.

As I see it, the answer lies in an amalgamation of the following factors:

Misunderstanding of the total foreign arrivals figure

In 2010 South Africa received around 11.3 million foreign arrivals, of which 3.3 million were same-day visitors who did not spend a night in SA. This leaves eight million foreign arrivals who stay overnight in SA. Of these, around 5.7 million are from Africa and 2.2 million from the rest of the world (or overseas). Around five million of the African arrivals arrive via land border posts with the majority arriving from our neighbouring countries, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

The potential market for a hotel in Cape Town from these foreign arrivals would be around 2.2 million if it targets mainly overseas tourists and not the African market.  As the economists say, on the other hand, the potential market from these foreign arrivals would be around five million for a hotel in Nelspruit that mainly targets African arrivals.  Many tourism establishments believe they have a potential market of 11.3 million foreign tourists.

Dramatic increase in new accommodation establishments

This applies not only to hotels but also guesthouses and B&Bs. Although estimates vary as to the exact amount, we can safely say that the number of available beds has increased significantly in Cape Town and Johannesburg between 2008 and 2010.  Accordingly, a hotel in Cape Town (particularly in the upper star grading) has seen a significant increase in competition and occupancies and rates will suffer if the supply outstrips the demand.

On the other hand, accommodation establishments in smaller, more rural destinations have not experienced such an increase in the supply of beds, and their market, which is more domestic and business-focused, has not declined as much, with the result that they are not experiencing the same decrease in occupancies and rates as the urban centres.

Changing travel patterns

There has been a change in the travel pattern of tourists, with the length of stay of foreign tourists, in particular, declining in recent years.  Accordingly, the number of tourists may increase but, because they are staying for shorter periods, the actual number of bed nights is down, resulting in the lower occupancies.

Travel spend takes a knock

Tourists have been spending less on trips due budgetary constraints, resulting in them downgrading from five-star to three- and four-star hotels. On the other hand, some tourists have moved from three-star to five-star hotels where the five-star hotels dropped their rates closer to those of three-star hotels. Accordingly, hotels have been gaining or losing market share to each other depending on what their competitors are doing.

Lastly, I just need to add that, although the industry, on average, has been suffering, we have had anecdotal evidence of establishments that have weathered the storm well by focusing on the domestic business market and keeping their rates reasonable with a high standard service offering.  Keeping rooms spotless and being friendly and accommodating will not contribute to your expenses.

Martin Jansen van Vuuren, Strategic Solutions Director, Grant Thornton Cape