Summary of results from operators

There is lack of sufficient tourism projects that are successfully operating; however, there are lessons that have to be learnt from the few that have served as informants for this research. These lessons provide an idea on tourism project operations at a glance, and could be instrumental to future projects that are under planning or implementation. Some of the lessons learnt include the following:

167

 A basic educational background is lacking and is a key concern for most operators. It is evident from the research that a project that is operated by an educated operator has better prospects for success in terms of income and occupancy rates when compare to a business where the operator is not qualified;

 Lack of experience is another concern. Any operation could succeed based on the experience of the operator. It is a concern that government continue to entrust communities to operate these projects without the necessary experience;

 Most operators have no business operational plans, but they are running businesses where they have no knowledge of occupancy rates, and lack systems. All these gaps point to lack of education and experience of the tourism industry; and

 The operators seem to worry about income but not occupancy. Income and occupancy cannot, however, be separated. They want to succeed in their operations, and yet, they have neither a plan nor a marketing strategy, or systems in place to operate the facilities optimally and efficiency; and

 The facility operated by the private sector appears to be the most successful.

It is believed that qualifications and experience are the fundamental issues which underpin most of the challenges that confront the operation of tourism projects.

5.11. Conclusion

Education and experience are the cornerstones for success of public funded capital investments in tourism in the Eastern Cape Province, however, this has not been a matter of emphasis in any of the projects that are under implementation and operation. The projects will continue to experience challenges if there is no review around education and experience in the application process. Many challenges that have been identified in this study point to education and experience, for example non-availability of operational plans, building facilities in the absence of a feasibility study, or positive recommendations from a feasibility study, lack of operators, and

168 poor planning and management. While education is the cornerstone of a successful enterprise, government is not playing its role effectively to ensure that all these challenges are addressed. The progress could change for better if government provided leadership in terms of guidelines, establishing a monitoring system, and ensuring compliance. If these issues are not addressed holistically, these projects will appear to be a waste of time, and raise expectations that would not be fulfilled in the communities. These investments by government may appear to be wasteful expenditure.

While education and experience are key issues, it is evident from the research that there is a need for an overhaul of the community tourism projects, particularly taking into consideration that there are nine project operating, and unfortunately, only one project is operating optimally. The success of the tourism industry is inter alia through these projects, through job creation and attracting visitors to the province, however the pace and current approach is not yielding desired results, instead, it is costing taxpayers a fortune and is ineffective.

In addition to education and experience, other issues that have emerged from this research and include the following:

 Consultation of communities in the process of developing the tourism projects. This appears to be taking place in all projects, however, the extent of consultation and the impact were uncertain;

 Suitability of location intended for the tourism project was discussed and the outcomes indicated different levels of understanding and application. Lack of education and experience was also evident as there were respondents who were unsure whether the location of their projects is suitable or not;

 There was lack of understanding a feasibility study by some projects representatives as most projects were carried out without a feasibility study. This is fundamental as it provides a direction whether to invest or not. It was also a concern to have witnessed projects that proceeded under the oversight of government without a feasibility study;

169

 The operational status of tourism projects is a concern as there are high numbers of projects that are not operating, yet they were implemented many years ago. Government continued to fund and support projects that were not delivering results. In the absence of operational projects, there is no future for the tourism industry in the province;

 The number of years and the value spent to implement projects was attestation to the lack of skills and proper processes that could guide the implementation of tourism projects. Due to lack of innovation and proper business ideas, government was under pressure to disperse money, but unfortunately to immature projects;

 There were various reasons that led to non-operation of tourism projects. These reasons include EIA, land claim, insufficient funds, disagreement on the project, poor road access, non-availability of operators, poor location, delay in decision making, and community infighting. Most of these reasons could have been avoided if there were proper systems in place. Lack of skills had effect on these reasons;

 Lack of management expertise such as a quantity surveyor and other professional skills was a major challenge, hence most projects were not implemented in line with the budget and time frames;

 Lack of identifying and implementing a relevant operational model for the tourism project had an impact as most projects were not operating due to unavailability of an operator. Government and communities were embarking on development of tourism projects without knowing who and how they will be operated;

 Sustainability appeared to be a new phenomenon as most projects failed to integrate it during planning. The concern is that failure to sustain the projects would put reliance on government to fund operations; and

 Lack of compliance with legislations that could have impact the business is a challenge. Most tourism projects were not complying with basic legislations that regulate businesses. This is a risk for the business as it may face legal challenges that could impair its image.

170 The next Chapter focuses on the recommendations that are put forward to change the status quo of community tourism projects.

171

CHAPTER SIX

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TOURISM