diseases do not “ go away ” overnight if , in most cases , at all . RJ : I think that there is a growing realisation that we are going to have to live with Covid-19 . Your comments in and around March about saving several million lives through the measures being introduced being laudable , but a poor exchange if the result puts 1.5-billion people out of work , may yet come back to haunt us . Famine is another ever-present plague and the drop-off in commercial activity could see either food shortages or people being unable to buy food as they have no income reach unprecedented levels . All of this suggests we shall need to expand commercial activity as much as possible , while being aware of the need to be vigilant so as to minimise the risk of increased infections .
JC : Given that living with Covid-19 might be the way we go forward , how is this likely to affect the profile of travellers and the numbers ? RJ : I think travel will undergo real modifications from what was considered to be the norm only a year or so ago . I foresee that the larger groups of tourists travelling together on a coach tour will be greatly reduced or disappear entirely . Much smaller groups and travellers in only twos or threes might become the norm . I also believe these travellers are going to want to do more under their own steam , which could offer a much-needed boost for the car hire companies , which are taking real strain at the moment . This , with the type of traveller , will be elements we shall need to watch and create the products for — in an ideal world , proactively . But if not , then reactively .
JC : Numbers of people travelling together usually means better prices , so if travellers move in smaller numbers , are we going to see an increase in travel prices across the board ? RJ : Airlines have been a mass-market business model with the core costs covered by the economy seats and the profits being made off business and first-class sales . I think it is too early to tell if there will be a significant price shift , and hotels are going to have to be keen in their pricing and / or packaging to get through this period . JC : The intention with Destination Golf Travel was to develop products that would appeal to the international travel market and the regional and local traveller . The example would be the Royal Tours , because whether you are ordinarily resident in Windhoek , London or Johannesburg , what golfer would not want to take one of these trips ? RJ : Yes , and I foresee equal value in the golf staycation products you are developing . Twinning the Sandton Sun with Royal Johannesburg & Kensington , which will leave the non-golfer free to explore Sandton City , should fit very nicely with the new leisure demand we are experiencing . JC : There is also the real chance , at Sandton Sun and some of the other venues we shall use , that the golfer will not even be missed . RJ : Indeed , and we also have the contingency that should a couple book with both being golfers , then we can reformat the non-golfer elements into a golf package with no change in the original pricing . The fact is that this will be the type of agility and innovation this sector will need going forward .
Contact John Cockayne : Ambassador , Destination Golf SAIO Region . cathco @ mweb . co . za
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