WATCH: Oupa Pilane express his concerns on the state of tourism

MBOMBELA – In a massive turnout, tour operators from across the region gathered at Church Unlimited in Mbombela on Friday to discuss government’s, and specifically the MTPA’s, dismal failure to meet and assist with Local Tourism Organisations (LTO) and the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business (KLCBT) for the last four years.

An emotive Oupa Pilane, president of KLCBT, addressed the packed venue of LTO members and concerned business people.

“How do you do business when in 100 days you have 64 protests? How do we have a public sector who do not see it as a crisis? If we had a serious government, we would have been called to say ‘people, how can we resolve these issues?’ Today we need to turn the tide; the time for diplomacy has come to an end.

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It is time that government gets exposed.The provincial government needs to adhere to their own National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS),” Pilane said.

The NTSS, which government has developed, clearly states that there should be a partnership between the public and private sectors.

Pilane alleged that the current governmental structures are shambolic, under-resourced and full of incompetent people.

He claims that the Mpumalanga government had failed to adhere to the principles of the NTSS in any way. “Since our last meeting with Derek Hanekom in October 2018, the predecessor of the current tourism minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, we have been begging for meetings with provincial government, without success.”

Businessman and the owner of Rissington Inn, Chris Harvie, emphasised the impact tourist attacks had on the industry.

“I saw grown men cry, who got robbed at gunpoint and left abandoned next to the road.”

Harvie stated that tour operators are faced with compensation claims under European law, as they get sued for the hardships tourists face who come here expecting safe conditions.

He reiterated how difficult it was to meet with the MTPA and that it has failed to market the tourism diversity.

“They own our brand, they own Mpumalanga, they own the rising sun, but they do nothing to revive it. If you follow MTPA on social media, you would think they live on another planet.”

David Frost, the CEO of the Southern African Tourism Services Association, emphasised that local tourism must be private sector-led and government-supported.

“Government must get its head out of the sand and start doing things differently.The private sector outspends government in marketing in this country, at least 20 to one.

“Government has never worked in the tourism industry; the people who are working there have never worked in tourism.”

Frost referred to the mining industry, and said tourism can take a leaf out of its book, as the mining industry is on the front foot, and takes the minister and government to court to get what they need.

“We are quite happy that after several interventions and the use of our contacts, we have persuaded the minister to reach out to us,” Pilane said. Tourism stakeholders will meet with Kubayi-Ngubane today in Hazyview to hand over a petition to her which will convey the KLCBT’s and the LTO’s concerns.

The CEO of Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, said the MTPA spends more money on salaries than on marketing.

“It is our money that they are using, it is not government money, and they are just the custodians of our money.”

“You are supposed to spend more money on operations, on things that are tangible, and not on overhead costs.

There is potential in this country to double the amount of tourists who visit this country to 21 million by year 2030.”

And if nothing happens? “If there is no action from Kubayi-Ngubane, we will get into busses and drive straight to the union building and picket there,” Pilane promised.

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