Airbnb's disruption brings joy and dismay
Some in the industry oppose the platform, but not SA Tourism
The Guga Sthebe building in Langa, Cape Town, is painted in bright colours and patterns, an eye-catching breather from the muted tones that dominate the township. That venue - used as an arts and culture centre - played host last month to Airbnb's two-day Africa Travel Summit, which was attended by various players in the travel and tourism sector. Why host the summit in Langa? Because, as the company's head of global policy and public affairs Chris Lehane said, it characterised Airbnb's aim to push so-called "inclusive tourism". And Cape Town is the most popular South African destination on Airbnb. During the summit, the peer-to-peer accommodation company released a glowing report titled "Airbnb in SA: The Positive Impact of Healthy Tourism". Millions of rands flowing in Some of the key findings of the report, based on independent analysis by local consultancy Genesis Analytics, were that since Airbnb was founded in 2008, people across Africa have earned more than $400m (about R5.8b...
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