Author: Midcham Newsletters

Tourism marketing opportunity in Asia

On the 24th of June 2017 to 07 July 2017, the South Africa Tourism(SAT) is arranging a travel trade workshops to enable South and Southern African tourism suppliers to showcase their products and offerings to Asian Market.

The workshops serve as a valuable networking opportunity, to help boost confidence in the destination among the outbound operators and travel agents in the marketplace.

Continue reading Tourism marketing opportunity in Asia

Start-Up Entrepreneurial Workshop

The Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) together with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) hosted a three-day entrepreneurial workshop for youth-owned companies around Middelburg.

The workshop took place from 14 -16 February 2017 at MCCI offices. The Entrepreneurship Development Programme is aimed at creating a conducive environment for young entrepreneurs to access relevant entrepreneurship skills, knowledge, values and attitudes for their businesses. Continue reading Start-Up Entrepreneurial Workshop

Learning To Manage Household Budget From An Expert

The Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) together with First National Bank (FNB) and Liberty Life hosted a budget and investment training for employees of companies that are affiliated with MCCI.

The two-hour session was held at the Middelburg Chamber on 15 February 2017, and a financial expert from Liberty presented the program .The aim was to empower the employees with practical examples.  The importance of setting realistic financial goals, saving strategies, and household budgets were discussed.  The negative effect of credit was explained, and tips were given on how to manage your credit.

It is beneficial for employers to train their staff on how to handle their own finances as it will reduce absenteeism and increased productivity: Employees with financial problems often take time off during office hours to go to the bank or attempt to sort out their finances. Bad credit management can also result in judgments and garnished orders, which is unfortunate for all concerned.

Members interested in sending their staff to the next training session is welcome to contact Dineo at 013 243 2253.

Sollys GM – Business Buzz

A very successful February Business Buzz was hosted by Solly’s GM, the dealership for GM; Chevrolet; Isuzu and Opel, and also for Isuzu Trucks.

Jacques Strydom, the dealer principal, gave an informative presentation on how to interpret vehicle sales as an economic indicator. He said continued new vehicle sales show an increase the economic growth and increased used vehicle sales usually indicate slow in economic growth. The modest growth of vehicle sales in January 2017 could be the start of the turnaround in our economic growth.

The event was attended by 140 people from different business sectors in Middelburg. The next business buzz will be hosted by CEA Engineering on the 23 Maart 2017. For more info call 013 243 2253 or email: marketing@middelburginfo.com.

Tough Budget Reflecting Economic and Political Environment With Little Leeway.

The Middelburg Chamber of Commerce & Industry is affiliated with the two biggest SME representative organizations in the country, AHI, and SACCI, to ensure comprehensive representation to our members.  With this in mind, we give you the AHI’s perspective of the National Budget tabled by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

“It was a generally cautious budget in light recent political pressure on the Treasury, weak economic growth and escalating national debt,” said AHI president Bernard Swanepoel. “We are however concerned that not enough emphasis was placed on encouraging stronger growth to enable the transformation stressed during the budget speech.”

Mr. Swanepoel said the increased personal income tax burden, while probably unavoidable, would reduce disposable income and place additional pressure on the country’s small business sector. An increase in Withholding Tax on Dividends and in Capital Gains Tax would also have an adverse effect on retirement and investment planning. “We look forward to seeing how the R3,9-billion for SME’s will be allocated. The promise of expanded broadband to the country and the speedier communications that imply is also to be welcomed.”

“Our advice to our members and to SME’s, in general, is to recommit themselves to growth. Our sector ought to be the growth engine and job creator of the economy. We will continue our efforts to convince the government that the way to sustained growth is through liberating the private sector from the shackles of red tape and inhibiting legislation.”

Members should be on the look out for AHI invitations as well as SACCI invitations. More information is available with Mmabatho at 013 243 2253.

First Business Buzz for 2017

MCCI’s first Business Buzz for 2017 was hosted by Street Eyes Organisation.  The owner presented their initiative to reduce crime on our street by organising and registering car guards.  The car guards would provide information to the authorities about criminal activities in their area.  Read more about Street Eyes on their website: www.streeteyesorg.com or Contact Les Cass at 074 861 8188.

The event was attended by approximately 80 individuals from different business sectors in Middelburg.  The next business buzz will be hosted by Solly’s GM on 23 February 2017. For more information call Manus on 013 243 2253 or email marketing@middelburginfo.com

How important is it to grow the Local Tourism Industry?

Tourism businesses operating in the Steve Tshwete Municipal area need to ask themselves how important is it to develop this sector our town’s economy.  It has been proven with previous projects that when businesses collaborate towards a focussed outcome, all benefit.

Participation and commitment from all that form part of the industry such as guest houses, lodges, and tourist attractions are needed to grow our tourism sector.  The moment a participant or member only focus on, ” What is in it for me?” viable projects are doomed to failure.

A robust and active Local Tourism and Regional Tourism coordinates the provincial information through tourism offices and encourages tourists to visit destinations and experiences.  It is also easier to manage certain operational issues such as brown tourism signs and target marketing, events promotion to promote the area.

For more information regarding affiliation with your Local Tourism Organisation, you can contact the Information Centre on 013 243 2253 or email us on reservations@middelburginfo.com