CATCH-UP: What we’ve learnt from the pandemic

Travel has changed irrevocably, forcing us to review how our industry will operate going forward. From flexible booking and cancellation to changing government restrictions, agility and resilience have become the name of the game for operators working in the tourism space. This panel will look at some of the lessons learnt over the past year and provide a perspective on what change will remain for the future.

THE SPEAKERS

Ikaneng Ephraim “Oupa” Pilane
National Deputy Chairperson of SATSA

Mr. Ikaneng “Oupa” Pilane is a self made entrepreneur, tourism development consultant, local government specialist, business coach, and preacher who is intently focused on organisational, personal, tourism and business development. Oupa has spent most of his career in the public sector–in both Local and Provincial Government– as a media adviser and providing beneficial strategic planning and planning advice for integrated development planning.

Cindy Sheedy Walker
CEO of Extraordinary Marketing

Cindy Sheedy Walker is the CEO of Extraordinary Marketing which includes a collection of lodges and hotels in Southern Africa. Her experience in the travel industry includes airline, cruising, hotels and safari lodges. Having marketed Southern Africa on international and domestic levels since 1997 she is passionate about the destination and is firmly resolved to support the tourism industry and contribute on a professional and personal level to the restoration of the industry.

Dr Theuns Charles Vivian
Head: Tourism Destination Development for the City of Cape Town

Theuns Charles Vivian is an academic, writer, entrepreneur and administrator with specific focus on tourism and entrepreneurship. He was born in Cape Town and obtained his first degree from the University of Stellenbosch in 1984 (BEcon) where after he obtained a BCom honours degree from Unisa in 1987 and a MEcon degree from Stellenbosch University in 2000. In 2012 he obtained his doctorate from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the title of his doctoral thesis is: TOURISM BUSINESS GROWTH WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN THE TOUR OPERATING SUB SECTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA

THE MODERATOR

Mandisa Magwaxaza
Board of Directors of SATSA, Founder & Owner of Mandisa Magwaxaza Communications, and Co-Founder of Locals Who Wonder

Mandisa is from GQeberha in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape. Mandisa is energised by making change happen! Her lifelong goal is to see the South African tourism industry give access through knowledge to those who have not learned about it, include those who have been historically excluded from it, and diversify its reach and representation. Mandisa’s work with township tourism businesses and championing of the SA domestic market placed her on SATSA’s radar as a promising young, African women with the potential to lead.