The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and thriving in South Africa’s tourism industry, which every year awards its most outstanding achievers through the Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (Eteyas).
The awards have been running for nine years and recognise those with the potential to become future captains of tourism as they gain ground in a fiercely competitive industry. Supported by South African Tourism, the Eteyas were established to assist emerging entrepreneurs to progress to the ‘big time” and the mainstream economy by highlighting their businesses and providing much-needed economic boosts in the way of cash prizes and marketing assistance.
In 2001 SA Tourism became aware that a growing number of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) were being left out in the cold on the edge of the tourism industry and were struggling to get a foothold in a rapidly growing market. The majority of these businesses possessed the potential to help diversify the country’s range of tourism products and experiences and broaden, in particular, the cultural and heritage aspects of the industry.
Township bed and breakfast establishments, fledgling tour operators and tourism guides were all jostling for position to compete with the industry’s major players and needed a boost to their aspirations. The Eteyas are open to all tourism SMMEs with a turnover of less than R5-million that are owned and run by previously disadvantaged businessmen and women.
The SMMEs can be accommodation establishments, tour operators, conference centres or cultural villages, and even travel agencies and tourism attractions or restaurants. ‘We encourage lots of entries from a good spread of establishments,” says Hanneli Slabber, product manager at SA Tourism. ‘The awards are an excellent opportunity for them to get the support and guidance they need to transform their future in the tourism industry.”
Each province is responsible for the shortlisting of up to five candidates, inviting them to attend training and marketing workshops to develop presentation skills and business strategy planning. Candidates are then given a month to apply these skills and formulate business proposals, which are submitted to a panel of judges.
The judges conduct site inspections, interviewing each of the shortlisted candidates before selecting finalists from each of the nine provinces. The finalists each receive a cash prize and are invited to participate in a year-long mentorship programme run by the Tourism Enterprise Programme.
They also get to attend one of the world’s biggest travel trade expositions — the International Travel Bourse in Berlin. An overall entrepreneur of the year award is decided on by a panel of respected national judges, including representatives from the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association, the Tourism Grading Council and provincial tourism authorities.
The overall winner is given a cash prize of R100 000 and three runners-up receive R75 000, R50 000 and R25 000 respectively. Last year’s winner — KwaZulu- Natal’s City of Choice Travel and Tours — was announced at South Africa’s annual tourism expo, the Indaba, which is held each May in Durban.
A new award was introduced last year — the South African Ambassador Award — recognising the finalist that shows true passion for the country’s tourism industry and possesses the qualities of a model South African. The first South African Tourism Ambassador Award was given to Mechack Nkadimang from Hotel Kgalagadi in the Northern Cape village of Batlharos.
Like Hotel Kgalagadi, past winners of the Eteyas tend to offer ‘off-the-beaten-track” tourism experiences, with opportunities to socialise or stay with local people, explore the country’s back roads and see cultures and heritages that do not normally receive exposure.
For example, the first Eteya winner, Bernard Morobe, operates Mankwe Heritage Tours and Safaris, which takes guests on tours of the Pilanesberg National Park in North West province, combining Big Five game viewing with a cultural tour that introduces them to the heritage of the Tswana people.
Cultural tourism figures strongly in most Eteya winners’ businesses. Vevisa Lodge, for example, is in the heart of Limpopo’s former Venda homeland and incorporates a typical Venda village fruit and vegetable market, while also offering local Venda dishes on the lodge’s menu.
Like last year’s awards, the 2009-10 Eteyas have been boosted by the involvement of South African Breweries (SAB) as a primary partner of SA Tourism. SAB has injected R1.9-million
into the initiative, an amount that is being invested in training and capacity-building among all the qualifying finalists.
‘The Eteya project is an essential part of ensuring that the smaller, black-owned tourism businesses are adequately equipped to gain strong entry into the tourism industry,” says Chris Meyiwa, SAB’s enterprise development manager. ‘This includes the process of creating jobs and ensuring that an authentic African experience is offered to all visitors,” he says.
The nine finalists for the 2009-10 awards were announced in September during World Tourism Day celebrations in the Northern Cape. They were selected from 27 semi-finalists representing a diverse range of tourism offerings from guesthouses to car hire companies.
‘We have been wowed by the time, passion and absolute dedication to the tourism industry these emerging entrepreneurs have shown,” says SA Tourism’s chief operations officer, Didi Moyle.
‘They are truly the cream of the industry’s crop and a true reflection of how we can celebrate diversity through tourism and their innovative and diverse product offerings.
‘This country’s diversity is one of the most significant attractions from a leisure and business tourism perspective and through the Eteyas we are automatically extending the wealth of authentically diverse South African tourism experiences,” Moyle says.
Front runners
The provincial finalists for the 2009-10 Emerging Tourism Entrepreneurs Awards are:
Eastern Cape:
Jeya Jazz Corner Tavern — Noxolo Sume
Mpumalanga:
Bella Bonni Guest House — Meisie Nkosi
North West Province:
Nare Travel and Tours — Tebogo Nare
Western Cape:
M’Hudi Wines — Malmsey Rangaka
Free State:
Emzini Guest House — Kennedy Khoza
Northern Cape:
Repa Guest House — Neiso Ingrid Mophule
KwaZulu-Natal:
Siyeza Car Rental and Shuttle Services — ‘M” Mokoena
Gauteng:
Tsheola Dinare Tours — Jojo Tsheola
Limpopo:
Tiveka Game Lodge — Tiveka Mathumbu
The overall winner and winner of the South African Tourism Ambassador award will be announced at this year’s Indaba which takes place at the Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban from May 8 to 11.