“We can attract tourists as much as we like, but we cannot do it alone. We have to engage with our business people. You are on the ground and we need your input.”
This was the message to stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry of Parys during a meeting at In-Town Guest Lodge last week.
The meeting was hosted by the Ngwathe Municipality to discuss promoting tourism in town and the launch of tourism month.
Special attention was given to com- pliance in terms of Covid-19 regulations, in line with level 2 lockdown protocols.
In her message, the Ngwathe com- munity director, Phumzile Nhlapo, shared ideas on how the municipality plans to welcome tourists back.
It also wants to kickstart the tourism industry after it had been hard-hit by lockdown since March.
She said that, while the industry has opened up again, it is still difficult to get it back on track because people still fear going out.
She expressed her desire to engage more with local businesses as their input is needed now, more than ever before.
Nhlapo highlighted the Vaal River as one of the town’s tourism diamonds and elaborated on an advertising campaign the municipality is planning to launch locally and nationally.
This would include brochures advertising what the town has to offer.
Local business owners supported the idea, adding that all digital platforms should be used in advertising.
They said local business owners should be consulted to get an accurate picture of what the town has to offer the tourism market.
The municipality is now placing more emphasis on cleaning up the central business area, especially over weekends. The stakeholders requested that more bins are put up, especially alongside the river. They added that more effort should also be taken in educating people not to litter, rather than only cleaning the town week after week.
Among some of the ideas discussed were clean-up competitions for schools and posters educating people not to litter. Apart from that, a lot could also be done to beautify the town.
Mr Colin Pule, responsible for Local Economic Development in Ngwathe, said the town has more than 120 resorts, hotels and guest houses to offer. The massive impact tourism has on the town’s economy can, therefore, not be overlooked.
He said Ngwathe is looking into opening up more ventures to promote tourism, like flea markets and optimising the use of the Container Park facility.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that small local enterprises benefit from these ventures.
Pule invited businesses to give their input on how best to market the town.
Special attention should be given to the Vredefort Dome Heritage Site, in line with the Tourism Minister’s desire to market the country’s World Heritage Sites.
The meeting was quite productive, with positive energy and suggestions to market the tourism industry.
However, it was clear that Parys should take what the town has to offer and improve on it, rather than merely starting new ventures.
