Category Archives: Shrien Dewani

Freedom Day 2014: reflecting on 20 years of democracy!

SA FlagIt was the interview with a Cape Argus reporter on Friday that made me reflect on how far not only our country, but also I personally and my business have come in the 20 years since we voted on 27 April 1994.  The Argus interview was focused on the progress over the past 20 years I have seen personally, business-wise, and politically.

My very first feedback to reporter Dylan was that 1994 was the first and only time that I was allowed to vote, having a German passport.  I do not recall how it was possible for all foreigners (by passport) to be allowed to vote, when it has never been allowed before nor since then.  I loved standing in a queue somewhere in Sea Point, being part of the exciting day that would change our country forever, and how much goodwill there was amongst South Africans whilst waiting patiently in the queues. Little did we know that the rest of the world waited anxiously for the outcome of the election, fully expecting a revolution to take place, unbeknown to us residents, with thanks to the SABC in ‘protecting’ us from this world scenario.

I moved to Cape Town in 1990, and transferred my marketing research consultancy Relationship Marketing from Johannesburg, changing its emphasis to Public Relations for food clients such as Baker Street Snacks, Bonnita (now Parmalat), Aylesbury, and more.  The late John Harrison was a favourite client when he was GM of the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway.  Even Mark Shuttleworth was a client, before he became famous for selling his Continue reading →

Will Tourism survive two high profile court cases reflecting crime in SA?

bunte-oscar-pistorius-whale-cottage-portfolio-gun-745306312In the past two days Oscar Pistorius has featured in the 19h00 and 21h45 news broadcasts on ZDF TV, one of the largest German TV channels, the story no doubt reported by every other TV station in the country too.   Yesterday Shrien Dewani arrived in Cape Town by special chartered jet, to appear in court briefly for the alleged murder in 2010 of his wife, which he is alleged to have masterminded and paid for.  He has dodged being extradited to our country for more than three years, pleading that his alleged mental illness made him unfit to be extradited.  The story is being extensively reported by the UK media.  One must ask how damaging the coverage of both these alleged murders are for our tourism industry.

Of the two cases, the Oscar Pistorius one is the more serious one when it comes to its potential for its negative effect on the Tourism industry.  Pistorius described in detail in court to what extent he and his family have been the subject of crime, and why he carried one or more firearms.  Interesting was the report by Times Live yesterday, with research by Data Driven Insight (DDI) reflecting that the Pistorius case is dominating all news reporting locally, at 36%, followed by the Dewani case at 31%. Internationally, the coverage for the case between Monday and Tuesday was highest in South African tourism source countries, being the USA, the UK, Germany, Australia, and France, followed in sixth place by South Africa. DDI measures coverage by scanning 6,2 million ‘social media platforms‘, 60000 online newspapers, and 66 radio and TV channels globally.  The Pistorius case will dominate the rest of the week, as Pistorius testifies with his advocate Barry Roux, and then is cross-examined by State Prosecutor Gerrie Nel. Continue reading →