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Bartis now Satsa E Cape chairman
Posted on: Tuesday, 21 June 2005. Article source: Weekend Post
Hugh Bartis has been unanimously elected chairman of the Eastern Cape chapter of the Southern African Tourism Services Association (Satsa).
Bartis, who is also a member of the Eastern Cape Tourism Board and Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, will handle the association’s compliance portfolio, which covers tour guiding, transport and all legal matters.
Previously, he served as a Satsa Eastern Cape executive committee member, tasked with developing a mentorship programme for historically disadvantaged entrepreneurs (HDEs).
Married with two daughters, Bartis says he hopes his two-year tenure will be marked by a consolidation of the initiatives set out by the previous chairman, Salome Clack, and closer alliances with other tourism associations in the province.
A native of the Eastern Cape, Bartis, who is “not yet 40”, grew up in Grahamstown. He earned his Bachelors degree and BSc Honours in geography through the university of Fort Hare, and has done a post-graduate higher diploma in education through Rhodes University.
Bartis went on to become a teacher in Port Elizabeth before heading off to the US, where he worked and studied for three years while completing his Masters degree in geography through the University of Ohio.
It was while he was travelling through the US that his passion for tourism first came to light, says Bartis, who says he visited all the states except Alaska.
Bartis returned to South Africa in 1994, and took up the position of tourism lecturer at the then Port Elizabeth Technikon in 1996. He was appointed head of tourism in 1999, a position he still holds after the merger with UPE and Vista to form the NMMU.
Bartis is passionate about the Eastern Cape’s potential as a tourism destination, and about Satsa Eastern Cape’s role in developing that potential.
In his role as chairman, he also acts as Eastern Cape representative on the national Satsa board. “Satsa Eastern Cape affords local tourism business partners a voice at national level,” he said.
When asked about his goals for the association, Bartis said the biggest challenge facing the local industry is to move away from the perception of being a white-dominated association.
“I see Satsa EC doubling its membership in the next five years,” says Bartis, “but to do that it must attract membership from a wider spectrum across the colour line.”
His future plans include ensuring continuity within the ECTB and Satsa EC by building capacity and developing succession initiatives that will draw on new ideas of the leaders of tomorrow.
“It is important to remember that no board should ever be a one-man show,” he said.
Bartis, who is also a member of the Eastern Cape Tourism Board and Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, will handle the association’s compliance portfolio, which covers tour guiding, transport and all legal matters.
Previously, he served as a Satsa Eastern Cape executive committee member, tasked with developing a mentorship programme for historically disadvantaged entrepreneurs (HDEs).
Married with two daughters, Bartis says he hopes his two-year tenure will be marked by a consolidation of the initiatives set out by the previous chairman, Salome Clack, and closer alliances with other tourism associations in the province.
A native of the Eastern Cape, Bartis, who is “not yet 40”, grew up in Grahamstown. He earned his Bachelors degree and BSc Honours in geography through the university of Fort Hare, and has done a post-graduate higher diploma in education through Rhodes University.
Bartis went on to become a teacher in Port Elizabeth before heading off to the US, where he worked and studied for three years while completing his Masters degree in geography through the University of Ohio.
It was while he was travelling through the US that his passion for tourism first came to light, says Bartis, who says he visited all the states except Alaska.
Bartis returned to South Africa in 1994, and took up the position of tourism lecturer at the then Port Elizabeth Technikon in 1996. He was appointed head of tourism in 1999, a position he still holds after the merger with UPE and Vista to form the NMMU.
Bartis is passionate about the Eastern Cape’s potential as a tourism destination, and about Satsa Eastern Cape’s role in developing that potential.
In his role as chairman, he also acts as Eastern Cape representative on the national Satsa board. “Satsa Eastern Cape affords local tourism business partners a voice at national level,” he said.
When asked about his goals for the association, Bartis said the biggest challenge facing the local industry is to move away from the perception of being a white-dominated association.
“I see Satsa EC doubling its membership in the next five years,” says Bartis, “but to do that it must attract membership from a wider spectrum across the colour line.”
His future plans include ensuring continuity within the ECTB and Satsa EC by building capacity and developing succession initiatives that will draw on new ideas of the leaders of tomorrow.
“It is important to remember that no board should ever be a one-man show,” he said.
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