WHILE the Africa Travel Indaba was hailed as a success, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa says in order for South Africa to become a tourism destination that is highly competitive, it will require that all stakeholders put all hands on deck to plan, execute, assess and constantly thrive to improve the experience of tourists.
Tshivhengwa was speaking at a breakfast event, which highlighted the importance of prioritising tourism and the bold steps taken by TBCSA to double tourism numbers by 2030.
As the umbrella business organisation representing the country’s travel and tourism private sector, TBCSA conducted a study that revealed immense untapped potential in SA Tourism.
“In order to become a tourism destination that is highly competitive, South Africa will require that all stakeholders put all hands-on deck to plan, execute, assess and constantly thrive to improve the experience of tourists. This will eventually increase our market share and give a boost to South Africa’s profile,” he said.
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This calls for collaborative strategies across South Africa that give constant attention to competitive options, market development and potential opportunities. President Cyril Ramaphosa put a challenge to the industry in his State of the Nation Address to achieve the 2030 goal of doubling tourists and increasing employment by an additional 2 million, but a single organisation cannot achieve it alone.
“If the tourism growth targets of completing the e-Visa system, creating visa waivers for more countries, addressing tourist safety and additional marketing is prioritized, in 2019-2030, the direct tourism GDP impact would be R31bn in 2030. The indirect and induced GDP impact of tourism on these other sectors of the South African economy would be R633bn- a significant and impressive shift which could impact the South African economy immensely. The tourism industry commits to working with Government to drive a more ambitious vision for the sector, realising that job creation could depend substantially on this happening. This will require a very different way of working, but the industry is up for it,” said BCSA chairman, Blacky Komani
In his closing remarks, Minister of Tourism Dereck Hanekom mentioned that it is key for the sector to also look back at what has been achieved and not only where we are going. Hanekom stressed the importance of the industry offering superior experiences to tourists, as this not only profiled South Africa, but influenced tourist repeat visits into the country.
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