Brexit What Does It Mean for Your Travellers?
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AUGUST 2016 Brexit What does it mean for your travellers? Mining slump hits travel budgets Menlyn set to become SA’s next MICE hub TB2082SD HOW TO take the sting out of travel savings T-System’s Richard Whitfield takes the time to earn travellers’ trust TB2004SD COVER Editor's note Richard Whitfield tells Travel Buyer about why he believes hile the tightening number of nights spent travelling, of purse strings, through to allowing travellers to relationships are more important than ever when it comes to particularly when it stay with friends and family and corporate travel. Cover photograph by Shannon Van Zyl. comes to corporate the company paying over the host Wtravel, is nothing new, it does feel a fee instead of paying for hotel as if the topic is being tackled accommodation. News 2 with renewed vigour, perhaps due Of course, there are also some • What does Brexit mean for SA travellers? to the ever-looming threat of a things travel buyers should never downgrade and the volatility of skimp on, particularly when it • Govt calls for TMC bids our currency. comes to duty of care. Read the • What you missed at the Saaci Congress 2016 What I’ve found particularly travel budgets feature for a list of interesting though, is how all the non-negotiables when it innovative travel buyers are comes to duty-of-care inclusions. Profile 10 being in terms of finding ways to Also in this issue, we’re taking a cut down travel spend without closer look at travel management • Taking the time to earn travellers’ trust travellers having to feel that for the mining industry. This highly they’re sacrificing their comfort specialised industry is littered with to improve the company’s complexities and the potential to bottomline. incur exorbitant costs, so we’ve Meetings 12 This month, we spoke to spoken to some of the TMCs • Menlyn on track to become Gauteng’s next hub Richard Whitfield, travel buyer with expertise in navigating this for ITC company, T-Systems. ‘minefield’. • 48 hours in Gauteng Incredibly, he’s managed to Then, we’re putting the cut travel costs by 50%, simply spotlight on Gauteng, looking by introducing better systems at the fast-developing hub of On the radar - Travel Budgets 16 (including an online booking Menlyn, which is set to become tool) and whittling down vendors one of the province’s main centres • Budgets may be lean but not necessarily mean and channelling business to a for MICE. There’s also no shortage preferred list, putting him in a of activities to add on to your position to negotiate great rates conference, and we provide a On the radar - Travel Management for and value adds. 48-hour guide of suggestions to We are delving into the subject fill up the free slots in your event the Mining Industry 22 of travel budgets in even more programme. • Mining slump hits travel budgets depth, with a dedicated feature that looks more closely at some of Keep reading! the ways travel buyers can take the sting out of savings for travellers – Sue van Winsen Deal Detective 24 ranging from cutting down on the ([email protected]) • Travelinfo’s latest top travel deals PUBLISHER Kate Nathan GROUP PUBLISHER David Marsh DEPUTY PUBLISHER Brought to you by Now Media, Travel Buyer + Meet is a Natasha Schmidt CONSULTING Editor Sue van Winsen EditoriAL professional travel publication aimed at South African CONTRIBUTORS Linda van der Pol, Liesl Venter, Michelle Colman, Darise Foster, travel procurement decision-makers in travel-buying Taryn Nightingale DESIGN & LAYOUT Tanya Lowery PHOTOGRAPHER Shannon companies. This publication aims to reflect an unbiased Van Zyl SALES [email protected] ADVERTISING CO-ORDINATOR Anthea perspective of the corporate travel industry offering Lucas circulATIONS [email protected] PRINTED BY Juka Printing (Pty) Ltd insight and tools encouraging readers to manage their PUBLISHED BY Travel & Trade Publishing (Pty) Ltd, Now Media Centre, 32 Fricker Rd, Illovo travel spend better. Travel Buyer is the media partner of Boulevard, Illovo, Johannesburg, PO Box 55251, Northlands, 2116, South Africa. Tel: +27 11 327 4062, ABTA, ACTE and the GBTA Fax: +27 11 327 4094, e-mail: [email protected], web: www.travelbuyer.co.za IS THE CORPORATE EVENT PLANNER IMPORTANT TO YOU? Over 1 000 a day can be reached online when you advertise in www.tam.co.za TB1959 August 2016 • TRAVEL BUYER 1 News What does Brexit mean SAA enhances African network for SA travellers? AA has enhanced its Central African route HE rapid depreciation of the UK currency is expected to remain What happens in practice in network. With effect British pound in the days in the region of 10-15% weaker the longer term would depend from July 31, flights will following the UK’s vote to exit than would have been on the approach taken by the UK Soperate from Johannesburg the European Union is good the case under a no-Brexit scenario, government and the 27 Member to Brazzaville and Pointe newsT for South African travellers although it is expected to recover States during the UK’s withdrawal Noire on the same flight to the UK because they will get somewhat over the medium to long negotiations, the report said. number. more rands for their pounds, says term. These currency fluctuations It added that, while it was This operation to the economist, Roelof Botha. during Britain’s exit from the EU possible to argue that Brexit could Republic of Congo does not “While the rand weakened will make long-term planning lead to enhanced visa options utilise any domestic rights, against the dollar in the aftermath a bit tricky, says Susan Thesan, for Commonwealth nationals meaning SAA does not carry of the referendum, the pound operations director of British T.I.P.S. (including South Africans), it was any passengers between took a dip to levels last seen three The free movement and working not possible to state with any Brazzaville and Pointe Noire, decades ago, making it cheaper rights of EU citizens will remain certainty what a post-Brexit UK or vice versa. for travellers to visit the UK at the unchanged for the time being, immigration policy might look like. Flight SA084 will depart moment because the pound is so according to a White Paper released It is also possible that Brexit could Johannesburg at 17h20 on weak,” Botha says. by the UK House of Commons, titled have different implications for Mondays, Wednesdays and Studies done by Iata reveal the Brexit – What Happens Next? different visa categories. Saturdays to arrive in Pointe Noire at 20h30. The flight will then depart Pointe Noire at Ethiopian 21h30 to arrive in Brazzaville at 22h30. It then departs launches Brazzaville at 23h30 to arrive in Johannesburg at 04h20 newest aircraft the following day. SAA will continue to serve THIOPIAN Airlines, Cotonou in Benin utilising its which will be the service to Libreville, Gabon, first African airline to thus introducing a new operate the Airbus sector between Libreville EA350 XWB, will eventually and Cotonou. The airline deploy the aircraft on its has secured traffic rights Johannesburg route. enabling it to pick up and The airline will initially L drop off passengers between ZY use the aircraft on its Lagos AN Libreville and Cotonou in V and Dubai routes. With an both directions. expected delivery of another Flight SA090 departs SHANNON 13 A350 XWBs over the next : Johannesburg at 15h00 three years, Ethiopian Airlines photo on Tuesdays, Fridays and will soon be flying the aircraft Sundays to arrive in Libreville into OR Tambo International Pack your bags at 18h55, before departing at Airport. 19h45 to arrive in Cotonou The aircraft offers 313 seats Air Mauritius has changed its business-class travellers two pieces at 21h55. Return flight SA091 in economy class (in a 3-3-3 baggage policy to two pieces of 32kg each. Pictured here are Air departs Cotonou at 22h45 to configuration) and 30 seats for travellers to Mauritius and Mauritius’s Wouter Nel, sales and arrive in Libreville at 00h55 in business class (in 2-2-2 all worldwide destinations with marketing manager Southern the following day. It then configuration). immediate effect. Economy-class Africa, and Carla da Silva, regional departs Libreville at 01h45 Abel Alemu, Ethiopian travellers are allowed two pieces manager for Southern Africa and to arrive in Johannesburg at Airlines regional manager of luggage of 23kg each and Latin America. 07h20. for Southern Africa, said the aircraft would mainly be deployed on long-range intercontinental flights. “This Ghana delays visas on arrival includes flights to North and HANA’s visa-on-arrival Commission in their country of travellers ask for a visa on arrival, South America as well the Far policy for African residence for a visa prior to travel. according to the GIS spokesperson. East,” he said. citizens has not yet been “We haven’t received any official However, a request for this ‘entry “These aircraft will operate implemented. documentation as yet, which is permit’ has to be filed by the to destinations with huge GA spokesperson for the Ghana why we haven’t implemented the Ghanaian host on behalf of the passenger traffic, including Immigration Service (GIS) at Kotoko new measures. People who arrive traveller with the Director of Johannesburg, Lagos and International Airport in Accra, said without a visa do so at their own Immigration in Ghana. If granted, Dubai,” said Alemu. that travellers still needed to apply risk,” he said. the ‘emergency entry permit’ is at the Ghana Embassy or High Only in cases of emergency, can valid for only 14 days.