contributors Nombulelo Mkefa serves as a Director on the Board of Cape Town Tourism as well as trustee of the District Six Museum. Ms Mkefa leads the City’s mandate for local tourism that encompasses not only the City’s strategic partnerships for marketing initiatives and for visitor services but also destination management in ensuring that Cape Town can and is ready to receive visitors. Ms Mkefa, with her vast experience in Community Based Tourism and in Local Government has a vision to lead Cape Town in becoming a Responsible
Tourism Destination. In pursuit of that the culmination of the 1st International Conference on Responsible Tourism in 2002 was a destination milestone.
Kevin Mearns is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of South Africa. Kevin’s specialist area of research involves the application of sustainable tourism indicators to tourism ventures across Southern Africa. One of Kevin’s on-going areas of interest lies in the development of a series
of Southern African benchmarks or baselines that will provide a local measurement instrument for comparative purposes which is suited to local conditions in Southern Africa. Kevin received his academic training both locally at the University of Johannesburg and abroad in the United Sates and the United Kingdom in Environmental Design and Management as well as Geography. Kevin is an active scholar which has published more than 18 peer reviewed scholarly papers and chapters. Mearnkf@unisa.ac.za
Steve Barnard. After starting his career as a soldier in 1976, Steve resigned from Defence Force in 1990 and started his business career with SANLAM as a Branch Manager. During his time with SANLAM he worked in the townships of Port Elizabeth assisting stokvel groups with investment planning and black entrepreneurs with business development. He was then recruited by Midland Chamber of Commerce as Business Development Manager before the 1994 elections to head up the Job Creation Forum for the Regional Economic Development Forum of the Eastern Cape. Steve was instrumental in the designing, development and implementation of the Community Self-Employment Centre in Port Elizabeth that has been successfully operating for the last 18 years.
After moving back to Pretoria in 1998, he has been involved in the fields of Business Consulting and Restructuring, Socio Economic Development and the Property Industry. He is presently CEO and owner of VNet investment Holdings, a group of companies which includes VNet Properties (Property Management and Development), Rainmaker International (Business and Socio- Economic Development Consulting) and VNet Technologies (Web and WAP based and Programme Development). Steve has established the IRCD (Institute for Rural and Community Development) with the Augment Group as a mechanism for creation and implementation of programmes for the development of rural and peri-urban communities. Garden of Life is one of the programmes that has successfully implemented in various centers in South Africa and Botswana. Retail group, SPAR has to date used the Garden of Life programme in 78 projects in Botswana. steve@vnet.org.za - www.ircdsa.org.za
Peter Fabricius is an e-Tourism consultant and the co-founder of Springnest - an inclusive, simple and affordable online marketing solution for tourism and hospitality businesses. He holds a Degree in Tourism Management and a qualification in digital design, a combination which has shaped his career and one he is very passionate about.
combining knowledge and top quality web tools. Through Springnest’s online marketing package, tourism business of all sizes and online competency can benefit from professional websites, mobile websites and Facebook applications.
Springnest’s vision is to put the power of online marketing and branding in the hands of the tourism trade by
In 2004 her work on Community Based Tourism Development won her an Impumelelo Award (Silver) that recognizes excellence and innovative work in the public sector. In the same year the City adopted the Tourism Development Framework. The City of Cape Town also gained recognition in 2009 by being awarded Best destination by Virgin Holidays’ Responsible Tourism Awards at World Travel Market in London. Nombulelo.Mkefa@capetown.gov.za www.capetown.gov.za
Peter believes that tourism businesses should have access to a service that grows and improves with the fast-paced and ever-changing web and by doing so remain at the forefront of online marketing standards. peter@springnest.com www.springnest.com