This follows news that the tourism sector has increased exponentially.
As the 19th Tourism Indaba closes today who’s this year’s theme was “promoting our Heritage and Culture” the Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk is upbeat that SA is on the right track in terms of brand awareness and economical advantage.
The overall international tourist arrivals growth in 2012 was 10,2%. This was against an average global industry growth of 4%, he said.
“We are intent on building on this foundation. The launch of the South African National Convention Bureau has delivered exceptional results and has greatly boosted our global competitiveness in pursuing our target of R6,2 billion in direct spend via business events over the next five years,” he said.
Although the issue of whether to extend the dates for the Indaba, as was previously mentioned it could be cut down from four to 3 days was not properly addressed, the Minister said it was time to modernise and expand Indaba.
“Our vision as government and South African Tourism is that Indaba must be the platform for exhibitors and buyers, not only in and from South Africa, but for the whole of the African continent. To achieve this we are willing to invest even more to transform Indaba into a pan-African trade platform.”
Domestic tourism is a key component of our journey going forward. Increasing domestic tourism’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and promoting a culture of travel among South Africans are key objectives of the National Tourism Sector Strategy. At any given time, three quarters of all tourists in South Africa are South Africans, with domestic tourists having contributed one hundred and one billion rand (R101 billion) to our economy in 2011, he said.
Some of the South Africans who do not travel tell that they cannot afford it or are not aware of accessible offerings.
As a sector, says Minister, we therefore need to work harder to address these information and cost barriers by investing in new partnerships and relationships, including between provincial tourism marketers and SAT; investing in a new marketing campaign for domestic tourists that is to be launched during Tourism Month in September, targeted at a broad cross-section of the South African population; and reminding South Africans that tourism is everybody’s business.
All South Africans stand to benefit from a robust, growing destination.
