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RIP Peter Myles

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This letter was sent to NMBT Members today:

It is with great sadness that we notify you of the passing of tourism’s dear friend, Peter Myles, after a lengthy fight against cancer.

Peter Myles was regarded as one of South Africa’s leading tourism professionals. Before establishing his own business in 1995, Peter served as Director of Tourism Port Elizabeth (tourism marketing) and then as Regional Director of the South African Tourism Board in the Eastern Cape (tourism development). In 1995 he developed the Peter Myles cc network of associated specialists in Southern Africa and other parts of the world to focus on major tourism development projects.

From the day he first entered the tourism industry, Peter never looked back. He wrote articles for tourism journals, prepared strategic tourism plans, designed appropriate organisational structures, facilitated tourism enterprise development, conducted tourism research in South Africa, Zambia, USA, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean, compiled visitor statistics, presented capacity building training courses, facilitated tourism workshops and prepared project proposals.

He served on a number of statutory boards and professional associations. These include the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Eastern Cape Gambling & Betting Board, Eastern Cape Tourism Board, and Eastern Cape Bioregional Implementation Committee. He was recently appointed to serve on the Advisory Board of the Netherlands-based Stenden University SA located in Port Alfred, Eastern Cape Province.

In 1992 he received the Communicator of the Year Award from the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa, the SA Tourism Award in 1990 for uplifting tourism in the Eastern Cape Province, and the Tourism Liaison Council Award in 1989 for the marketing of Port Elizabeth as a tourist destination. In 2003 he was honoured by the former Premier of the Eastern Cape and the Eastern Cape Tourism Board, and was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for his contribution to the development of the first Eastern Cape Tourism Master Plan.

Peter was an Associate of the IUCN Tourism & Protected Areas Specialist Group, a Member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, and a Member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. He was registered with IUCN to undertake desktop reviews of World Heritage Site (WHS) nominations. He was also a long-standing member of the NMBT Board, and only recently stepped down due to ill health. Furthermore, he was a recipient of the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the recent awards ceremony hosted by Nelson Mandela Bay Business Events.

His wealth of knowledge on tourism statistics was commendable and he was fondly regarded as PE’s ‘master tourism statistician’. His powerful presence in the tourism industry will be sorely missed, but he leaves a legacy which has hugely benefited the tourism industry as a whole.

On top of his many qualifications, his extensive experience and deep knowledge of this field, Peter was a true gentleman with impeccable credentials. Old-school in the best sense, he set a fine example of selfless activism in our industry.

Travel safely, Peter. You will be missed.

On behalf of our members and the broader tourism industry, we send sincere condolences to his family.

Yours in tourism

Shaun Fitzhenry
NMBT Chairperson

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