After 80 years, a ‘granddaddy’ of B2B publishing, Hotel & Restaurant magazine, will effectively shut down this week when it publishes its last issue and closes its news website.
Lamenting the closure of one of South Africa’s oldest magazines, long-time editor, Andrew Moth, who retired last year, apportioned some of the blame to the way government is hindering the growth of tourism.
He pointed out that hotel suppliers had also been hit hard by the failure of the South African economy to grow. “Tourism should be the fastest growing industry in South Africa but it is hamstrung by stupidity at the top levels of government and general incompetence in the civil service. Although South Africa offers a business and leisure tourism experience that is among the best in the world, travellers find it difficult to get here because of red tape over visas. South Africa is a long-haul destination but policy makers must get out of the way and allow tourism professionals to make it easy to fly here and do business or have a holiday.”
