WATER shortages are
having an impact on
corporate travel into
Cape Town and the trade
has urged corporates to act
responsibly when planning
trips to the city.
Clifford Ross, ce of City
Lodge Hotels Group, points
out that the water shortages
in Cape Town have had an
impact on the hospitality
industry already. “STR
Global stats show that hotel
occupancies in Cape Town
dipped 6% year on year
during December.” He says
in response to the water
shortages, he believes that
corporates – in the spirit
of good corporate social
responsibility – should be
mindful of the dire situation
and, where possible,
consider alternatives such
as flying into and out of the
city, where this is possible,
in an effort to put less
pressure on the already
strained supply.
The issue was also raised
in a recent ABTA webinar,
where Lloyd Barkhuizen,
head of sales at FCM Travel
Solutions, said the Flight
Centre Travel Group had
instituted an embargo on
travel to Cape Town for
all but essential business
travel, and was advising
clients not to organise
events in the city.
ABTA founder, Monique
Swart, said that while it
made sense to try and
decrease the amount of
mouths needing water
by decreasing travel and
incentives into the city, she
asked about the impact this
was likely to have in the
long run.
Lloyd responded by saying
that while the economy
would be hurt, it was
important to assess which
was the “lesser of two
evils”.
Corporates agreed that it
was essential to address
the drought in their
travel policies. Richard
Whitfield, travel manager
for T-Systems SA, said the
company was encouraging
everyone who had no
alternative but to travel to
Cape Town to bring a fivelitre
bottle of water along
with them. “Also, we are
using tools like video and
teleconferencing to alleviate
travel,” he added.
Richard said T-Systems
SA had had to bring all
departments together to
work on a plan of action
that extended beyond the
travel department to include
elements like introducing
internal helplines and
addressing wellness
concerns in its Cape Town
office.
This message was at odds
with the message being put
out by Wesgro, which issued
a press release stating that
Cape Town was “open for
business”. The statement
reads: “Together with the
City of Cape Town and
Western Cape government,
Wesgro will be working with
conferences to reduce their
water consumption and,
where possible, become
water-neutral. This will
ensure events can still
go ahead, contributing
hundreds of millions of
rands to the provincial
economy.”
