The Tourism Business Council of South Africa

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) is the official umbrella body for the private sector business organisations in the South African tourism industry.

The council is made up of paying members from the key travel and tourism associations, leading tourism businesses as well as corporate companies who recognise the importance of tourism to South Africa and the general economy. The council is run by a member elected board who serve for two years.

The TBCSA strives to work together with all role-players to create an enabling environment for growth and development of the tourism industry. As 'the voice' of the industry, the TBCSA commits itself to ongoing transparent communication and knowledge sharing and encourages and promotes the same in all member representatives.

Vision

The Voice for the tourism industry. An industry that is organised, informed, giving constructive voice and working together for the growth and development of the sector.

Mission

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) strives to represent industry members' interests and foster positive relationships and processes that result in the growth and development of the tourism industry and sector.

The TBCSA was established in February 1996 by key leading tourism businesses and associations to form a unified platform to engage with the South African government around the development of the tourism industry.

The organisation has been operating for more than a decade and has successfully helped to lobby and guide an immature industry through a period of unprecedented growth. The tourism industry in South Africa is entering a new era of maturity and development aligned with the country's emerging democracy. The outlook for tourism in South Africa has never been better or more exciting.

Overview of the South African Tourism Industry

The South African Tourism industry In 2006 was estimated to include some 40,000 companies employing around 600,000 people throughout the country. The bedrock of the private sector is the small business operator, employing less than 50 people and around 90% of the tourism offerings in South Africa are provided by such small entrepreneurial operators. The industry is challenged by fragmentation and disparate geographical locations but buoyed by continued growth and international interest

In 2006 South Africa welcomed more than 8 million people to its shores and is achieving a growth rate in the double figures. The industry also has a thriving and growing domestic tourism market of around 15 million travellers. In 2005, tourism overtook gold in terms of its contributions to the economy of South Africa.

Hospitality Divisions within PAM Golding Properties

In 1997 the Pam Golding Property Group embarked on a strategy to leverage the synergy that exists between property, developments and the hospitality industry, by launching Golding Hotel Investment Consultants (Pty) Ltd (GHIC).

GHIC provides a wide variety of services to hotels owners, developers and hotel operators in Southern Africa and The Indian Ocean. GHIC assembles plans and consults & assists with developments, leases, acquisitions and funding for hospitality and leisure developments, including boutique hotels, resort hotels and game lodges. GHIC further provides benchmarking to banks, valuers, accounting firms, operators and investors. GHIC's Founder and Managing Director, Joop Demes has been responsible for transactions and deals well in excess of R2 billion over the last five years (May 2007) and he expects to continue to dominate the market place - to accomplish this he has formed two other specialised hospitality companies within PGP.

Last year Demes formed Pam Golding Vacations in Property (VIP), headed by former international five star hotelier Jose Ventura, to design, market and sell member-owned private residence clubs, sectional title hotels and serviced apartments at prestigious resort and urban locations through fractional ownership and or condominium applications.

VIP clearly differentiates itself from any other firm in Southern Africa involved with fractional ownership in that it only takes on projects with a proven and well known Hotel Operator and an International exchange component - very different from syndication. VIP services include product design, structure, pricing and levy calculation, marketing and sales, financial planning, lead generation programmes, and advice & assistance regarding legal structure and framework.

Their first VIP project, Pezula Pezula Private Residence Club in Knysna, sold out in May 2006 at R43m in just over five weeks. Their current projects include 47 Park Street in London and the Banyan Tree Private Residence Club. Further projects are lined up in Cape Town, Mpumalanga, London, Mauritius and the Seychelles.

Pam Golding Lodges and Guesthouses (PGLAG) is another specialist hospitality company formed by Demes in 2005. The purchase of a guesthouse, lodge or small country hotel is a very specialised transaction that requires expert consultation and advice. It is very much a purchaser driven process, very different from other estate agencies who concentrate on the vendor - the buyer needs expert knowledge and advice regarding different opportunities and market conditions throughout the country, current and forecasted room occupancies & average room rates, associated expenditures and overheads, the optimal legal structure, potential of financial gearing and for foreigners immigration advice. Buyers who chose PGLAG deal with the same person throughout the purchase process and PGLAG is the only real estate company in South Africa offering this service throughout the country.