That’s Calvyn Gilfellan’s take on the criticisms and reportage on Cape Town Routes Unlimited. You can read his full media statement here.
We believe that this extraordinary barrage of unfounded attacks being directed at us is not random or co-incidental and that it serves the selfish interests of a few.
The negative things that are being said about us are just plain lies.
We will not waste our energies on a tit-for-tat media game.
We will choose the time and place of communicating our good news to the world.
He doesn’t say what the lies are and one has to wonder why has hasn’t shot those lies down in flames to prove his point. Why didn’t he respond to Simon’s comments in this blog (click here – and it’s not Simon Grindrod) or anything that was said?
CapeInfo has tried to engage him and CTRU for four years with no success. So he gets CapeInfo’s “Global Award for the Tourism CEO who most needs to go on a Dale Carnegie Course.” CTRU has PR consultants and they have in the past, but they don’t know how to use them.
He also claimed that funding the transformation of the industry is not high on the City’s agenda. The City’s response to that came from:
Simond Grindrod -
Transformation in the tourism sector is best served from a platform of success. Perpetuating mediocrity and inefficiency in destination marketing will help neither the destination nor efforts at transformation within the sector as a whole.
Transformation happens at the sharp end of the business, not by having fancy seminars at expensive resorts or spending untold millions on gimmicky campaigns that nobody understands or supports.
CTRU’s most recent press release is a clear indication that their focus is everywhere but where it should be.
Mansoor Mohamed (a former member of CTRU’s board) -
Can’t be bothered with baseless statements.
I am loathe to get involved in this war of words, which appears to be driven more by the self interest of politicians and big egos than by any sense of what is best for the taxpayer. However I will do my best to answer some of your many challenges.
CTRU and its board are victims of the political discord in our province. The board anticipated the withdrawal of the city’s funds, even though the city’s representatives have publicly acknowledged that having one organization marketing our destination, rather than two, is a no-brainer. The board has also sorted out all corporate governance issues, and started to trim down the staff component in line with the greatly reduced budget, by not filling vacant posts and re-aligning others. The appointment of the CEO and two Marketing Executives, one of whom only started on Friday, will bring the necessary stability, direction and focus.
The CTRU does need to improve its image, which has taken a hammering. Its press releases, which do not go via the board for approval, have been poor, but the MEC and I have taken steps this week to rectify that. I agree that the market research you criticized is naïve, but it was meant for internal feedback from stakeholders. It went to the 6 regional tourism offices and thirty local tourism offices. The CTRU management assure me that they never intended the information to be released publicly.
As regards the ongoing domestic market campaign, some Mall promotions have been exceptionally successful, others less so. That is part of being a learning organization and the results will direct future schedules. The radio and print campaigns have been very well received and these will also be carefully evaluated.
Going forward, the marketing team will ensure regular media briefings on the campaigns that are being run, and the successes that are achieved. CTRU will be concentrating on delivery, and will work with CTT to minimize duplication and maximize synergy. I hope that in the months ahead the focus of the media attention can then be on the important issue of all stakeholders working to increase tourists to our wonderful Cape. Let’s get on with the job.