Tag Archives: Reserve Bank

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 22 January

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The inflation rate has dropped to 5,3%, leading economists to speculate that the interest rate will remain unchanged or may even drop when the Reserve Bank meets next week.  Inflation is expected to decrease further when the petrol price drops by an estimated R1 per litre in February, to as low as 3,3% by April.

*   SAA has received a guarantee of a further R6,5 billion from the government, to allow its auditors to publish its financial results.

*   The One&Only Cape Town is offering a new Wedding Concierge service, including ‘one-of-a-kind wedding proposals‘.  Wedding Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 24 June

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*  Ticket sales for Opulent Living’s black-tie event ‘Chefs who Share’ 2014, to be held on 11 September in the City Hall, open from tomorrow.  A total of 14 local chefs, 7 international chefs, and 7 local sommeliers will be in attendance.  Tickets cost R3000, and the proceeds go to the MADD Charity and to Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. (received via media release from Opulent Living).

*   SA National Parks (SANParks) is to invest R50 million in enhancing the tourism infrastructure of Table Mountain National Park, including Cape Point (receiving 860000 visitors per year) and Boulders’ Beach (receiving 680000 visitors every year), making them important tourism assets for Cape Town.  The announcement comes as the Park celebrates its 16th anniversary.  Improved roads and services can be expected at Cape Point.

*   The latest Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin reflects household consumption growing at a mere 1,8%, the slowest growth rate since the global economic crisis commenced in 2009.  Growth in food and drink expenditure in particular declined for the first time in the past five years.

*  Namaqua  wines, one of the Top 5 South African wine brands distributed in the UK by Raisin Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 29 January

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The first ever African marketing office of SA Tourism was opened yesterday in Lagos in Nigeria, by our Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk.  Not only will this be good for tourism for our country, but it also aims to create greater awareness and to attract more tourists to Africa globally.

*   The Reserve Bank has increased the interest rate by 50 basis points, the first increase in five years, to curb inflation caused by the weak Rand.

*   SAA made a loss of R991 million in the 2012/2013 financial year, an improvement on its previous loss of R1,25 billion in the previous financial year.  It blames the loss on the ‘weakened rand‘, as 60% of its costs are dollar based.  It announced today that had the Rand not weakened, SAA would have made a profit!  Cost-cutting efforts have been cutting the Kigali (to Rwanda) and Buenos Aires routes.  All long-distance routes are loss-making, admitted CEO Monwabisi Kalawe, but have to be retained for strategic reasons, such as Beijing.

*   The USA has close to 8000 wineries, of which just less than half are in California, by far the  dominant wine production state.   South Africa has about one tenth of this number!

*   The 9000 participants in the Travel Weekly’s Readers’ Choice Awards voted South Africa as the best Continue reading →

Profit pressure due to price push

The hospitality industry is under severe pressure to survive financially, given the decline in occupancy, and the reduction in rates to attract bookings and to conserve cash flow.

The increase in telephone costs, electricity costs, in the price of petrol and diesel, and in the Minimum Wage, combined with the lack of a cut in the interest rate by the Reserve Bank last week, is a severe blow to the industry, but also affects every South African household, the main source of income for the industry.

The worst shock is the increase in the price of electricity by 31 % from 1 July.   The increase is justified on the basis of new electricity infrastructure that is required, to prevent electricity load-shedding, as was experienced in 2007 and 2008.   Eskom had requested a 33 % price increase.

The price of petrol is set to increase by 40 cents a litre from 1 July, raising the price to R 7,90 a litre in Gauteng, reports Reuters.

TELKOM boasts about a minimal rise in its costs to consumers, but has sneakily left out the call cost increases of 11 %.

For hospitality establishments with fewer than 10 employees, the Minimum Wage increases by 11% to R 1 843,23 per month, R 425,43 per week and R 9,45 per hour from 1 July.   The formula for calculating the annual increase has been laid down by the Department of Labour ( consumer price index + 2 %).   Many staff may be prepared to hold their salaries to ensure that they maintain their jobs, but this flexibility is not allowed by the Department, who could not have foreseen the credit crunch when it introduced the Minimum Wage for the hospitality industry in 2007.