With tourism opening up again, satellite Internet technology could present South Africa’s remote, power and income-challenged tourist businesses a vital new platform to remain visible, operational – and ultimately solvent – as they get back on their feet after the devastation of lockdown.
Today, viable internet is part and parcel of the tourist offering. Whether from an advertising, sales, bookings or payments perspective, or part of the experience itself, “consumers of tourism products expect their experiences to integrate seamlessly with digital,” says Mohamed Hassim, MD of MorClick Satellite Internet.
Satellite internet access allows even the most remote tourist establishments to feature food and other offerings online, tell interesting visual stories, arrange virtual experiences, talk to clients, find new markets, or manage operations remotely.
“One only has to look at how successfully many game farms continued to position their offerings through lockdown,” says Hassim. By posting game sightings, live-drives and other visual content online and keeping their offerings visible, forward bookings – and vital revenue – continued even through the most difficult times.
Even before lockdown, affordable and reliable internet was cited as a principal obstacle to business by 60% of South African SMEs. This was even higher in the tourism and leisure sector.
Small businesses, especially remote tourism entrepreneurs, need reliable internet to serve their clients more effectively, find information, develop skills, and reach new markets. Accessing cloud-based services including, “accounting and other business tools, management, e-learning and productivity-improvement apps, while also identifying new business opportunities and increasing market access are critical for this segment,” says Hassim.
South Africa’s far-flung tourist establishments have long been accustomed to the challenges of distance and poor connectivity, dealing with the loneliness, insecurity and lack of social interaction as best they can. In the country’s most remote rural areas without access to electricity, the sense of social isolation and lack of meaningful human interaction is acute.
Fortunately, rapid innovations in satellite technology have made it possible – for the first time in history – for South Africa’s most isolated tourism assets, “to affordably access the internet and be as digitally connected and active as major hotels and resorts in Johannesburg, Durban or Cape Town,” says Hassim.
Most importantly, however, “satellite internet presents South Africa’s tourism sector a critical social inclusion lifeline,” says Hassim. Access to the internet, for example, allows remote tourist operators to stay in touch with friends and relatives while also reaching broader client and remote marketing networks. 24/7 connectivity is especially important in poorly policed rural areas where satellite internet keeps tourist operators in touch with their immediate community and security support networks.
“Moreover, by enabling telephone, television, Facebook, Instagram, Netflix and Skype along with the host of other social media elements that, today, define human interaction, satellite internet offers South Africa’s most isolated operators a sense of identity and inclusion while, “providing their guests the same digital ability that they enjoy at home,” explains Hassim.
From an affordability perspective, since the communications satellites are already in space, South African tourist establishments don’t have to pay for either a satellite launch or the development and maintenance of expensive fixed line networks. “All you need is a dish, a router, a battery and a subscription that best suits your needs,” explains Hassim.
MorClick, for example, provides equipment, installation and uncapped internet for around R800 a month. Today’s Ka band technology is also a great improvement on previous satellite offerings, “providing greater speed and much reduced interference from weather,” says Hassim. MorClick’s local dealer network also means that installation and maintenance help is available in local communities across South Africa.
In short, satellite technology enables affordable and reliable internet to remote establishments without access to fibre, unable to finance expensive connectivity packages or victims of regular cable theft or fixed-line deterioration.
Most importantly, however, the arrival of accessible satellite technology provides South Africa’s tourism industry an opportunity to level the digital divide, “offering competitive, cutting-edge digitally-enhanced tourist products regardless of how remote they are – or how far off the grid,” concludes Hassim.