The government has a role in our tourism business

As the government’s official predictions are that SA’s economy will grow at less than two percent over the next three years, it is worrying that the authorities appear to be ignoring the potential of tourism to lift the country out of its economic gloom.

A leading figure in the local tourism and hospitality sector, Newmark Hotels CEO Neil Markowitz, says South Africa has scored a number of “own goals” when it comes to encouraging foreign visitors.

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He cites the difficult visa process for visitors from India and China – whose outbound tourist numbers are growing at the fastest rate in the world. Markowitz believes there is a definite “disconnect between the private sector and government” with regards to tourism.

“I don’t understand how the situation can have persisted for so long. There is a lot of negative energy – and enormous lost opportunity – around the system and its slow processes.”

South Africa is blessed with perhaps the world’s largest variety of physical and cultural attractions and it goes without saying that, not only is tourism a renewable resource, it has the potential to make a significant dent in our horrifying unemployment problem.

The government needs to start listening to, and working with, the tourism business.