By: Tebogo Mokwena
Investing in compliance in order to attend international trade fairs is a recipe for success, according to tour operator Andrew Machete. Machete told Vutivi News there were a number of boxes that needed to be ticked to gain access to these trade fairs, and also take advantage of the services that the government provided to SMMEs. Machete was one of three SMME owners in South Africa that attended the Fitur Madrid International Trade Fair 2023 recently.
The fair was attended by over 600 exhibitors and official representatives from 70 countries, including tourism ministers from 21 countries. Machete’s business, Timeline Travel, is based in Chloorkop in Ekurhuleni and has been providing inbound tourism services since 2017. He said that attending the fair had put his company and the country on the map, with travel agencies from other countries looking to do bookings through his business. He also said that attending the event was a huge milestone for his company as it exposed him to the international market.
“It was a great platform to showcase our services, and at some point, I felt like an ambassador of our country because we were there to increase the numbers in terms of inbound tourism,” he told Vutivi News. This was not Machete’s first fair. He attended the World Travel Market (WTM) in London in 2019 through the Tourism Department’s Tourism Incentive Programme. He said that he was on the government’s database for these opportunities because his business was compliant.
“One of the causes of low compliance in business is a lack of knowledge and the costs complying incurs,” Machete said. “I have found that many small business owners do not know how to fill in a tax clearance form because they find it too difficult a process and neglect it. “The government is there at SMMEs’ disposals, and SMMEs just need to know how to communicate effectively with government departments.”
