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Off the Cuff: Joanne Wadsworth
June 09, 2008
By Jennifer Juergens
How long have you been in the tour business?
The short answer to this question is 22 years, however if it hadn't been for the long road I have travelled or the options made available to me during difficult times, I would never have lasted or been as successful as I am today. The long answer is that I have been in the hospitality industry since 1986. Since the age of 13 I had dreamed of working within the hotel or hospitality industry and at the time that this became a reality it was quite unheard of for any female in South Africa to enter a "man's world". The government's view on women in general were that they had to be teachers, nurses or housewives, but I was fortunate enough to have very understanding and supportive parents who were willing to take the "risk" and with the help of my cousin (who was already established in the hotel industry in South Africa), I managed to get a job at the Pietersburg Holiday Inn.
During my year there I was able to work my way through all the departments—from dishwasher to cleaning bedrooms and doing night-audits. I was then accepted to attend the Witwatersrand Hotel School—the only one of its kind in Southern Africa at the time. Out of 6000 applicants, they only accepted 100 students per year, of which 15 were female. After obtaining my Hotel Management Diploma in 1989 I was employed as Food & Beverage Manager/Assistant GM for a small boutique hotel in the Northwest Province, which was followed by a stunt as itinerant trainer for waiters, barmen & chambermaids and also included hygiene training for Chefs and management assessment at various properties across the country. I then accepted the position of assistant to the operations director of Gallagher Estate as part of the opening team—a state of the art convention centre in Johannesburg. This was possibly one of the most interesting times of my career as it allowed us to develop a product from the ground up.
When it was completed, all the existing personnel were asked to leave and that is how I ended up working for Sun International as a sales coordinator. I stuck this out for 3 years and on the day I was intending to resign I was offered a position at Sun City Resort as senior Conference Manager in charge of all the large meetings and VIP conferences for the domestic market. My first introduction to International Incentive was co-ordinating and delivering a program for Relais et Chateaux's Global AGM. It wasn't long after this that I was promoted to Manager of the International Groups & Incentives Department of Sun City Resort.
What did Sol Kerzner (Sun International) teach you about the hospitality business?
The one thing that working for Kerzner taught me was that nothing was impossible—you are allowed to dream big and if you believe in your dream you can make it happen. Kerzner also never forgot the "little man". I remember one day sharing a lift with him while still at Sun International Head Office and him greeting me by name—we had met briefly six months before at a Head Office workshop when he was busy finalizing the opening of The Palace so for him to remember who I was was quite a miracle.
After your stint at Sun City, you went to work for Tusker Tours. When did you buy the company?
I was approached by the owner of Tusker Tours, to possibly purchase Tusker Tours in 2005. The actual completion of sale took place on the 25th of September 2006. The reason [Bryan West and I] pursued buying Tusker Tours, and not starting a new company, was that I had spent seven years with Tusker Tours building and cementing relationships with USA Incentive buyers and clients. Had we decided to start a brand new company it would have meant that we were unable to approach any of the existing clients of Tusker Tours and I was not prepared to walk away from years of sweat and tears!
What's the one attribute you must have to be a successful DMC?
An ability to think on your feet and stay calm in the eye of the storm is a "must-have" attribute for anyone working in the service industry—there is no opportunity for "make-overs" and it has to be done right the first time round.
What was the scariest thing that ever happened on a game drive?
The scariest thing that ever happened to me was during an evening drive in the Sabi Sands. We were tracking a young female leopard in the dark with the help of a spotlight. Finally she came to rest on a termite mound close to a thicket of thorn trees and we were all very excited about this perfect photo opportunity. While our attention was focused on the leopard our tracker suddenly went very still and told the ranger to try to get away as quickly as possible. Our ranger slowly tried to move the vehicle back onto the road, then came to a grinding halt and told everyone to keep as quiet as possible and not to move. This of course had completely the opposite result on the women in the vehicle as they all started nattering like a hysterical group of Hornbills! After calming everyone down he informed us that we had accidentally gone into a breeding herd of elephant, who were now extremely restless—these gentle giants of the African Bush don't like cats, in any shape or form and they were now trying to get rid of the leopard. Unfortunately for us, we were in the middle of all the action!!
What was one really unique setting you used for an event?
We had to find the most unique and special venue for their welcoming reception for a pharmaceutical company. We ultimately decided on approaching the Harbour Master of the V & A Harbour and he kindly gave his approval to let us use one of the jetties in the V & A Harbour. The entire event was themed around the Cape Malays and the history of Cape Town and guests were introduced to the sounds, sights and flavours of Cape Town. With Table Mountain and the City Bowl forming the backdrop of the evening, the guests were entertained by Cape Minstrels as they approached the old immigration office and experienced what true South African Hospitality was all about.
Joanne Wadsworth is managing director, for Tusker Tours, Cape Town, South Africa
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