If there’s one type of person I’ve never wanted to be, it’s the complainer – the one looking back, not forward. And yet, at Indaba 2025, I found myself becoming that person. The one speaking up. The one raising uncomfortable questions. The one inviting scrutiny.
But I want to take a moment to share why.
Three years ago, I emptied my business account and dipped R20 000 into my personal overdraft to attend my very first Indaba under my newly launched company. I was hopeful. I filmed the stand build-up on time lapse, created traction online, shared social media stories outward. And I made meaningful connections – two owner-run properties walking the floor that day before the official opening ended up becoming clients. I even participated in the South African Tourism speed marketing platform that, over time, helped me bring in another key account.
That momentum, that chance to show up, share and connect, wasn’t possible for my fellow small business owners this year – the true innovators and niche operators in our industry who arrived with missing artwork, no fascias or a voice beyond an empty shell.
We're not on the advisory boards. We're not represented by the bodies that speak on behalf of the industry as the membership fees are not a line entry for us yet. The louder voices belong to established corporates, associations and large-scale operators. And, while they absolutely deserve a place at the table, the table feels increasingly out of reach for those of us who hustle every day, who pitch up with passion and who try – gracefully – to play on the same field with far fewer resources.
Take the Tourism in Motion team, for example. They’ve developed a brilliant solution like the Free Corkage app currently available in Hong Kong – an initiative that helps restaurants encourage winter trade by waving corkage fees. It’s that kind of thinking, practical and creative, that our industry needs more of. But are these innovators being heard at scale?
So, yes, this post is me putting myself out there again. Not to criticise but to ask: If the small businesses, the owner-led brands, the purpose-driven players aren't represented, then what is the point?
If our Minister’s vision of tourism contributing 9.5% to the GDP of South Africa by 2030 is to be realised, we need more than well-meaning targets and high-level plans. We need grassroots inclusion. We need broader voices. We need space for those who may not have glossy stands but have solid ideas. We also deserve a seat at the tourism table.
Let’s aim to build a tourism industry that is not only inclusive in its language but also in its structure. It really is that simple.
