Two new ferries for island trips
Tourism stakeholders to share views with RIM executive
THE ROBBEN Island Museum has revealed plans of acquiring two new vessels to ferry visitors to the World Heritage site. It will also unveil a new cellphone app that will do away with the need for tour guides on the island.
Yesterday, museum chief executive Sibongiseni Mkize, chief heritage officer Pascall Taruvinga, and marketing manager Nomonde Dlangisa, invited tourism industry stakeholders to a joint meeting at the Nelson Mandela Gateway.
They said it was the first engagement of its kind where stakeholders could share their views with the museum’s executive.
Taruvinga said at the meeting that the museum was in the process of acquiring two additional boats.
The vessels could take from six to eight months to obtain and the cost could not be disclosed by the museum management yesterday.
The museum has three operational vessels, two of which serve as ferries and a cargo boat. The fourth boat, Sikhululekile, has been out of commission since last January because of breakdowns.
The two operating ferries, Diaz and Susan Kruger, are considered old vessels.
Taruvinga said: “The two boats are historic boats and they give an authentic experience, but were not designed to run three to four trips a day. Because of their age, breaking down is an order of the day.”
Dlangisa said yesterday that the skipper was running the 9am trip when he noticed that one of the boats had broken down. She said the museum did not have a contingency plan and was forced to cancel the trip.
“We often have to make use of chartered boats and that sometimes depends on their availability,” she said.
Boats are chartered depending on demand and ticket sales on an ad-hoc basis.
The price for chartering private vessels varied, depending on the company.
Tour operators, who attended the briefing, said they were pleased with the announcements.
Samantha Mtinini, from Camissa Travel, said although the new boats would take longer than expected to arrive, she was happy the museum was taking the initiative.
But she had problems with the lack of communication. “Things were not being communicated to us. There were times when trips were cancelled due to “technicalities” and you are only told 30 minutes before boarding time. This sometimes messes up my schedule because I have other set plans for other tours.”
Mtinini said because of cancellations she had to refund customers and, in turn, had to wait for up to a month to be reimbursed by the museum.
She said she also had problems with the last boat that arrived back at 6pm, especially if it was delayed, because by then no one was available at the information centre to account for any delays.
“Sometimes there is a mix-up on the island and the boats are packed,” said Mtinini.
“If you have a group of 30 you can find that half of that group has been left behind and they need to wait for the boat to return. It’s a mess and it is frustrating.”
Taruvinga said the app would act as a tour guide and provide information about significant spots on the island.
“We already have an interactive website, but the cellphone app is for when you come to the island, you don’t need a tour guide.”
Johnathan Muller, a tour operator from Trips and Tracks SA, said he was disappointed with the suggested cellphone app.
“I feel that with the app, tourist guides are undermined. Tourism is the easiest institution for job creation. They are planning to replace guides with machines. This is watering down our tourism industry,” he said.
Dlangisa told the briefing that the concerns raised were noted.
TOURISM IS THE EASIEST INSTITUTION FOR JOB CREATION. THEY ARE PLANNING TO REPLACE GUIDES WITH MACHINES. THIS IS WATERING DOWN OUR TOURISM INDUSTRY