Tourism academic responds to Pretoria name change debacle

THE head of the Departments of Tourism Management and Consumer Sciences at the University of Pretoria, professor Ernie Heath is of the opinion that the pursuit of changing Pretoria’s name to Tshwane could divide the broader community even more. Heath, a leading and well respected academic said in a position statement recently that with the city’s pressing socio-economic challenges, it made no sense to indulge in the luxury of lengthy debates around city name changes and other controversial issues. “The reality, from a Pretoria perspective, is that we are faced with major challenges, which include establishing a shared vision, a sense of togetherness and community pride and passion among all the people of the area to take individual ownership and become part of making the city a winning one to the benefit of all its people. Other challenges include generating sustainable economic growth, entrepreneurship and community uliftment, particularly among our previously disadvantaged stakeholders; urgently combating violence and crime, and providing appropriate and accessible medical, social, educational and infrastructure facilities and services.” He said that although one could appreciate some of the sentiments for wanting to change a city’s name, it is vital to consider it in within a longer-term strategic context and to weigh all the pros and cons, from not only a political, but also from a financial and broader community perspective. “Let us not forget that a name change could, among others, result in a short and medium-term loss of brand recognition, brand value and destination image virtues that have been build up over time and are worth many, many millions, both locally and internationally. Another danger is the actual and opportunity costs of renaming and re-branding the city, which could very easily run into hundreds of millions of rands for not only the public sector, but also for every single business, educational institution and local citizen, who will all be contributing to the new financial burden, both directly and indirectly. “Why not use the funds allocated to the intended name change initiative as seed money to form a partnership with the private sector (on a rand-for-rand basis) to embark on a major internal marketing drive to “sell the city to the people of the city; thereby establishing a shared vision among all stakeholders. We could also implement innovative and imaginative community involvement and upliftment projects, that are tangible and that will result in a better life for all,” he added. (Miguel de Sousa)