ALTHOUGH eTravel has
seen a flat year in
terms of figures, with
negative growth of 0,5%, there
is nothing flat about eTravel
ceo, Garth Wolff’s, prophecies
about the future of travel and
tourism in South Africa, or his
outlook for the SA economy.
Speaking at the eTravel
Forum Gala Dinner at the
Indaba Hotel on October
12, Garth said the last five
years had been tough but he
believed that the country was
at the bottom of a negative
cycle. eHolidays had had 5%
growth and the independent
wholesale consultant business
was up by an impressive
16,3%.
eTravel broke through the
R1bn turnover barrier in 2017,
grew it to R1,16bn in 2018
and despite a small fall-back
to R1,156bn in 2019, Garth
forecasts it’s now on course
for R1,175bn in 2020. He is
particularly proud of the fact
that the administrative staff
have had 15 years of salary
increases.
Commissions payable
to eTravel ITCs were being
budgeted at 81% in the short
term, said Garth.
An exciting development
is the eTravelConnect app,
keeping ITCs connected with
their travelling clients, allowing
them to give clients real-time
information and updates and
allowing clients to contact their
ITC when necessary. Garth
promised that this would take
eTravel ITCs to new heights of
after-sales service.
On the outlook for South
Africa, Garth sees signs of
confidence in the economy
such as the Leonardo, the
tallest building in Africa, where
an 80 sqm apartment sells
for R5,2m. He said with such
demonstrations of confidence
in the economy, Sandton
looked set to become the
financial capital of Africa. He
said the impunity of the
Zuma era was
now over,
the rot
was
being cleared out and the
net was closing. President
Ramaphosa’s focus on
rebuilding an ethical
foundation for SA and
revitalising the economy was
now in force, but recovery
would take years and years,
said Garth.
Garth has great faith in
South Africa in the long run,
and believes that inbound
tourism has the potential to
be much more of a foreign
revenue earner than it is.
His inbound venture, Blue
Canyon Private Game Reserve,
is forging ahead with the
establishment of the Blue
Canyon Wildlife Foundation,
an NPO that incorporates
an anti-poaching unit and is
designed to protect rhinos and
all wildlife of the reserve.
Even though we are all in
hard times right now, Garth
remains optimistic. “#I’m
staying! Be the change you
want to see,” he affirmed.
‘#We’re staying!’ as eTravel strikes optimistic note
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