Chairperson, the past year has been one of great successes for tourism in South Africa. We can look back at a gratifying year during which the country came together to show the world how to host a megasporting event like the Fifa Soccer World Cup, professionally and with an unmistakable African flair.
The event, which was rated as the best Soccer World Cup ever by Fifa and also its most commercially successful, attracted more than 300 000 visitors to our country. We also enjoyed unprecedented positive brand exposure, as about 30 billion cumulative viewers of the event experienced our country as they had never seen it before.
Tourism has taken up the central place it should fulfil in terms of the country's developmental agenda and its global role as a brand ambassador for our country. Now it is time for us to look ahead and continue to raise the bar.
The first ever National Tourism Sector Strategy, NTSS, launched in March 2011, is the road map that will guide us with regard to leveraging the position of our industry over the medium term. We understand that tourism is poised to play a greater role than ever before in the lives of South Africans with regard to its economic contribution and its job creation potential. At all levels of government, and in close partnership with the industry, we have committed ourselves to fast-paced and shared growth in our sector.
Never has the potential of tourism in South Africa been greater, but this also means that the expectation that all spheres of government should deliver is greater than before. Let us continue to meet and exceed the high standards we have set for ourselves and use tourism as a strategic tool to change and to improve the lives of all South Africans.
Our destination is currently well positioned, and our collaborative efforts before and during the Fifa Soccer World Cup have paid off. International tourist arrivals for 2010 registered a year-on-year growth of 15,1%, with more than eight million foreign tourist arrivals in our country.
I am pleased to be able to announce today that South Africa in 2011 has continued on its very positive growth trajectory with regard to foreign tourist arrivals. We were confident that South Africa would not experience a post-World-Cup dip in tourist arrivals after our hosting of the event. It always happens in countries, but we recorded growth in every month of 2010, including after the Fifa Soccer World Cup.
The latest figures show that foreign tourist arrivals in South Africa grew by 9,3% in January 2011, compared to the same period in 2010. There was positive growth from every single region in the world, although the slower growth from Europe showed that markets are certainly still under pressure from tough economic conditions. Overall, foreign tourist arrivals in our country grew by 1,1% from Europe; 10,6% from North America - that is good growth from that market; 19,1% from Central and South America; 29,5% from Australasia; 29,4% from Asia; 13,2% from the Middle East; and very importantly, 10,8% from our own continent.
It is important that we now work harder than ever to capitalise on the "top of mind" awareness that the Fifa Soccer World Cup has generated for our country.
One important tool for doing this will be the rigorous and disciplined pursuit of the targets in the NTSS. The strategy rests on three pillars, namely driving the tourism economy, enhancing visitor experiences and ensuring sustainability and good governance in our industry.
We aim to increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals in South Africa from seven million in 2009 to 15 million by 2020. We believe it is possible. We also aim to increase tourism's total contribution to the economy from R189 billion in 2009 to R490 billion by 2020 and to create 225 000 new jobs by the year 2020.
In order to streamline and align our efforts better, the department has also undertaken a review of current tourism legislation. We intend to table a tourism Bill in this Parliament before the end of the financial year, and we look forward to constructive interaction with members as part as that process.
We must also expand our contribution to economic growth and job creation. This must be done with the further establishment of a strong international presence in terms of not only marketing, but also promoting our brand. There is tough competition out there. In this context we are strategically rebalancing our portfolio as well as reviewing our market segmentation and understanding of the required product diversification. Our increased focus meetings, incentive trips, conferences and events constitute an important component of this approach.
We understand that co-ordinated bidding mechanisms are required, and we will therefore this year establish a national convention bureau under the auspices of SA Tourism. With regard to our portfolio, we will certainly not neglect our bread and butter markets in Europe, the United Kingdom and North America. You will, however, see a concerted effort with regard to strengthening our presence in new markets in India, China, South America and on our own continent.
It is absolutely vital, from our perspective, to give much greater priority to building the domestic tourism sector as a mainstay of sustainability. We can do much more to encourage our fellow South Africans to enjoy the magnificent variety and authenticity that our destination has to offer.
Of course, like all destinations, we are vulnerable with regard to what is happening in the international environment. My colleagues here, hon members, may recall last year, as one example, that we had the ash cloud over Europe. It had a tremendously negative impact on the industry, and this week there is again an ash cloud over Europe, although not with the same impact but an impact, nevertheless. Therefore, domestic tourism is a very important hedging strategy to ensure that we continue to be sustainable.
Domestic tourism forms the backbone of our tourism industry. In 2009 a total of 14,6 million adult South Africans undertook more than 30 million domestic trips, with a total annual spend of more than R22 billion. A total of 75% of all tourism volume in South Africa was derived from domestic tourists in 2009, making it by far the biggest segment of the industry.
Our Sho't Left domestic campaign is aimed at making travelling more accessible and affordable, and we have made a significant investment with regard to marketing, including through television, print, radio and outdoor advertising and events.
We will, in close partnership with the provinces, be developing a domestic tourism strategy in order to ensure that we unlock the enormous growth potential in our domestic market. Through the NTSS, we aim to increase the number of domestic tourists from 14,6 million in 2009 to 18 million by the year 2020. It is more important than ever that our industry remains innovative in order to encourage people to keep travelling. An important element of this is campaigns that offer consumers affordable and value-for- money experiences, especially in the local market.
In conclusion, I would like to thank our Deputy Minister, Ms Tokozile Xasa, for her enthusiasm for using tourism to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. My thanks also go to our director-general, Mr Kingsley Makhubela, for the exceptional way in which he has led our relatively new department. Thank you also to the entire team at the department for your commitment and your dedication.
I would also like to express my appreciation to the board and leadership of SA Tourism for partnering with us and helping to put the tourism brand of our country on the map like never before.
We are very appreciative of our constructive relationship with the provinces, with local government, and with the private sector. Thank you also to the members of the select committee, under the able chairmanship of the hon Gamede, for joining hands with us to take tourism to new heights.
I firmly believe that the collective goals and targets we set for ourselves are an accurate expression of the current potential of the tourism industry and are certainly achievable, if we all work together.
I am confident that 2011 will be another great year of growth for the tourism industry, but, more importantly, that it will place us firmly on the path to achieving our ambitious vision. In my reply, I will respond to the issues raised by the hon members. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Chair, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister and hon members, firstly, I think we need to congratulate the department, even at this time, on the fact that for quite a number of years they have been doing well and getting clean audits. This is what we appreciate because, as we do our oversight, we, as the committee, want to know that the audits are clean.
Secondly, I want to thank the department for moving speedily with regard to the appointment of the director-general, Mr Kingsley Makhubela. No space was left, and he also hit the ground running. He has also turned out to be one of the most accessible DGs.
The ANC-led government has identified tourism as one of the key contributing sectors to the medium-term strategic priorities of growing the economy and creating decent work. In his 2011 state of the nation address President Jacob Zuma indicated that tourism was among the six priority areas where jobs can be created; that all government departments would align their programmes with the job creation imperative; and that the provincial and local government spheres had been requested to do the same.
As a matter of fact, even the Industrial Policy Action Plan 2, Ipap 2, indicates tourism as one of the areas expected to contribute to the development of, among other things, rural areas, culture and crafts by growing the economy and creating jobs.
Tourism plays an important role in the building of the national democratic society by accelerating growth and transforming the economy to create decent work and sustainable livelihoods; by supporting a comprehensive rural development strategy linked to land and agrarian reform and food security; by strengthening skills and the human resources base; and by building national pride through cohesive, caring and sustainable communities.
It is recognised that the tourism industry remains characterised by large disparities in access to opportunities and benefits, and in particular, opportunities that would benefit black people. It is also recognised that the sector is largely privately owned. The industry is aware of the residual impact of this legacy of inequality and its continuing impacts on efforts to ensure that a tourism and tourism-friendly culture takes root in our country. Entry to the industry is very, very difficult for some South Africans.
Forecasts indicate that travel and tourism's total economic contribution in 2011 will account for about 9,3%, as has been said.
One needs to mention quite a number of challenges. South Africa has always been popular with international leisure travellers, but it is also fast becoming a preferred business tourism destination. Large international companies are eager to host international events, conferences and trade expos in our country.
When it comes to adventure sports, South Africa has a lot to offer. South Africa is a perfect playground for quad biking enthusiasts. One major challenge is for South Africa to increase its domestic tourism market. Put bluntly, South Africans, even Members of Parliament, do not tour South Africa. The revival of the Sho't Left campaign is much appreciated.
Another challenge is that it seems as if there is no centre in one way or another in the industry; each municipality, province or department does its own thing or its own marketing. We are aware that there are spheres of government, but when it comes to representing and being the face of the country, we believe that SA Tourism, SAT, needs to lead - one country, one government.
The other issue would be the branding of the country. We raised this in the committee: There is a brand that says, "South Africa - Alive with Possibilities". If you go to any country in the world and you make that statement they will ask you which country that is. If, however, you say, "Rainbow Nation", they will immediately tell you that is South Africa. If you say, "Nelson Mandela", they will tell you that is South Africa. So we need to do something about the branding, and I am aware that something has been done about the branding of the country.
The other challenge would be tourists' safety. While we appreciate that the National Tourism Safety and Awareness Strategy has been developed, another campaign must be engaged to prove to the world, and even to Africa, that South Africa is safe and that it will not be used as a fertile ground on which to commit crime, as happened in the well-known Dewani case.
While all provinces have something to show tourists, such as KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape, others like the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape need some support from government to pick up on tourism.
We have had a strategic workshop with the department. We know their priorities for this financial year. We know how many jobs they plan to create, how many youths they intend to train as chefs, how they plan to fight poverty with their Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP. We believe that with the resources they have been allocated they will do more to change the lives of the people. The committee supports the budget. Thank you.
Chairperson, it is indeed an honour for me to debate the Tourism Budget Vote today.
I would be remiss in my duty as a public representative if I did not mention that South Africa's sunny climate and scenic beauty with its cultural diversity indeed make it a well-known destination in the world. This is because one definitely gets value for money when visiting our beautiful country.
I was not surprised when Cape Town, which is in the Western Cape province and is governed by the DA, was won by the DA with a majority vote in the local government election on 18 May 2011.
Cape Town was named the top tourist destination in the world in May 2011, in the Travellers' Choice Destinations Awards. Cape Town beat places such as Sydney, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Hong Kong and many other countries in the world to take the top spot.
In 2007, Cape Town hotels were amongst the world's top 100 hotels. Cape Town was also voted the 10th best city in the world in a survey undertaken by International Travel Magazine. In 2009, Cape Town won the World Responsible Tourism Award for the best city. Halala, Cape Town, halala!
Chairperson, all three spheres of government must work together to achieve their objectives and goals. Vacancies should be filled. Hotels are fundamental in tourism, but should be more accessible to South Africans.
The core business in South African tourism, according to the Tourism Act of 1993, is to market South Africa as the tourism destination of choice. More focus needs to be put on other provinces that are not marketed as they should be.
More attention must be given to domestic tourism. Although 79% of tourist volume was derived from domestic tourists in 2010, many South Africans cannot enjoy the beauty of their own country.
It is cheaper to fly overseas than to tour in our own country. The department needs to find a way to make it possible for South Africans to enjoy their country and make it more affordable. A database must be compiled and made available electronically, to allow tourists easy access when they are looking for a destination.
The South African brand needs to be marketed in a more vigorous way so that all South Africans and the world can identify with the branding. We have so many different logos in South Africa, although they all resemble the South African flag colours.
During the World Cup, South Africans were seen very proudly wearing their South African colours, with even their cars being branded "Proudly South African". Very soon the flavour of the day will be Brazil. We need to build on the legacy that was left by the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.
The chefs programme is an excellent programme, but should be extended to all provinces on an equal basis to allow learners to benefit from it equally. We need local tourism institutions through which learnership programmes will be implemented, and we must allow all South Africans to benefit from such programmes. Guidance at schools should be given to assist learners to take advantage of these programmes. The department should play a bigger role in regard to leading and guiding the chef and learnership programmes.
The expenditure increased from R1,1 billion in the 2007-2008 financial year, to R1,2 billion in the 2010-11 financial year, mainly on spending and establishing a survey unit and a resource centre which is needed. [Interjections.]
Hon members, can we just ensure that our cellphones are off please! If you don't know how to switch it off bring it to me. I will definitely switch it off and I'm happy that it happened because you can see the effect of your cellphone now; it has distracted a member. You may proceed, hon member.
Under Programme 2, tourism development provides support in general to the administrative and operational support services for the programme: Support Services. The Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, is used for intensive labour programmes. More focus should be given to youth, women and disabled people. Opportunities should be made available for disabled people at all levels.
The department has an objective to achieve the goal of creating 22 196 full- time, equivalent jobs by 2014. Chairperson, that's very ambitious, as we know that under the EPWP most jobs are done on a short-term basis. I hope that this target is achieved.
In conclusion, South Africa was very blessed to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup. This indeed brought many tourists to our beautiful country. The department needs to assist in marketing and assisting the people that registered with the Tourism Board and advise them on marketing and promoting themselves.
A mentorship programme must be implemented. There are hundreds and thousands of people who are in debt because they thought they would benefit from the World Cup. I thank you.
Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister and hon members, the tourism industry in South Africa has shown phenomenal growth since our first democratic elections in 1994, when just more than three million foreign visitors arrived on our shores. Research indicates that domestic tourism decreased by 8% in 2009, with 30 million trips undertaken compared to the 33 million in 2008.
Tourism is a priority economic sector in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, which identified, among other things, the creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods. The MTSF also identified accelerated growth and transformation of the economy to create decent work and sustainable livelihoods; and a comprehensive rural development strategy linked to land and agrarian reform, with specific mention of tourism as an economic activity in rural areas with the pursuance of African advancement as strategic priorities.
The White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism of 1996 states that tourism is driven by the private sector and firmly based in local communities. Chairperson, I cannot agree more. Local governments should influence tourism products in how they manage their socioeconomic environment and how they provide services to their communities. Local government has also a role to play in providing leadership and the necessary planning to ensure that their communities and local businesses get the most out of tourism and to minimise any negative effects.
However, despite the significance of tourism, local governments have few dedicated or part-time tourism personnel members. Experience and knowledge of tourism are extremely limited while, with rare exceptions, no budget is allocated for tourism planning and development activities.
The entrenched belief that the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs inherited from the former national department responsible for local government is that there is no need to plan or budget for tourism support.
A radical change of attitude as far as this matter is concerned is long overdue. I must, however, admit that the SA Local Government Association, Salga, is already collecting best practices information on successful community-based and community-benefiting tourism projects, and is documenting them to assist other communities.
Tourism product development is currently driven mainly by the private sector, with some efforts by national, provincial and local government; although this has been largely unsuccessful. There is no co-ordination from a national level to ensure alignment between the marketing promises made at national level, and actual product development.
Tourism does not follow political boundaries. Often neighbouring municipalities or provinces plan to develop very similar experiences within their areas, but lose sight of the fact that the product offering can be improved through co-ordination with each other and other parties.
Furthermore, there are a number of rural areas within South Africa that have the potential to be turned into tourism destinations, but many of these are not being developed. Such areas present opportunities to develop new and different tourism products to address the change in requirements of the market. Hence there is a need also to recognise rural tourism as an element or part of niche product development.
However, it would seem that the growth of the tourism industry has not yielded genuine benefits for rural communities. They could benefit from and participate in the tourism industry, but their level of awareness of the industry and tourism skills are limited. Hence, some tourism investors and operators have taken advantage of the natural and cultural resources belonging to communities without any benefits accruing to the communities themselves.
In some cases, unrealistic expectations have been created about the potential benefits of tourism and the timeframe within which such benefits may be realised. When these promised benefits then do not materialise soon enough or at all, communities lose faith in well-intentioned operations.
While these issues have created reluctance among communities to consider tourism, many private-sector operators have reservations about community involvement in projects, resulting in a lack of progress in delivering tourism benefits to communities. Tourism awareness should be introduced at an early age, encouraging tourism already at school level. With greater knowledge and understanding of the sector, communities are more likely to protect and value tourism products operating in their areas as well as embrace foreign tourists who visit their areas instead of being hostile towards them.
As far as rural tourism is concerned, I would like to blow the trumpet of my own province, the Limpopo province. A tourist destination that certainly deserves more attention and intensive marketing is the Kingdom of Modjadji, the Rain Queen.
Situated in the Limpopo province and comprising a rural community of over 150 villages, the land of Modjadji is an impressive setting of ancient baobab trees, untouched bushveld, breathtaking mountain ranges and an abundance of wild creatures, flora and birdlife to complement this treasure chest of enchanting legends, myths and culture.
We have the Mafikeng tourism development programme which focuses on tourism as the driver for stimulating local economies in two local municipalities in Limpopo, namely the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality and the Greater Letaba Local Municipality.
At the heart of this focus is the process of extending a helping hand to local government to find suitable ways to meet the social, economic and material needs of citizens and community groups to improve the quality of their lives.
The development is designed to attract tourism in order to generate an income for the local communities in the Limpopo province, where poverty is deep and where promoting the concept of tourism is based on locality and acceptability to natural resources, with development assistance playing an important role.
It is therefore a pity that the lodge next to the Modjadji Nature Reserve was not completed and left virtually abandoned, as it had been seen to be a project that could alleviate poverty in the region by creating jobs for the community members.
Ke fihlile phelet?ong ya dingangi?ano. Ka tsela ye ke duma gore dinagamagae di lebelelwe ka leihlo la nt?hot?ho gore badudi ba t?we ka gare ga bodiidi. Ke a leboga. [Legofsi.] [As I conclude, I would like to emphasise that more attention should be paid to the rural areas with the aim of poverty alleviation. I thank you. [Applause.]]
Thank you very much, hon member. That was the permanent delegate from the Limpopo province representing the interests of Limpopo. I therefore call upon the hon Deputy Minister to continue with the debate.
Chair, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to outline the department's plans, which are aimed at ensuring that we contribute to the ongoing government programme to create jobs and grow the economy.
The primary focus of many of our programmes is people and people development. We are determined to make the commitment of "Working together in positioning tourism as a national growth driver in the economy" a reality.
Transformation of the sector is vital to ensure sustainable growth and development in the tourism industry. Our National Tourism Sector Strategy, NTSS, as outlined by the Minister and approved by Cabinet in March this year, is an ambitious plan developed by all stakeholders in the tourism sector.
This strategy will be the driver that will enable us to reach our ambitious growth targets and, by 2020, truly position us amongst the top 20 destinations in the world. It will serve not only as a tool of inspiration to take our sector to greater heights than ever before, but also as a map to guide us along the way and a yardstick by which to measure our performance.
It is our sincere belief that the success of the NTSS lies in its implementation. It is for this reason that we will be establishing a delivery forum to be convened by the director-general twice a year. It will be comprised of all the tourism social partners, such as government, industry, labour and nongovernmental organisations.
One of the key focus areas of this strategy is job creation, and the department will contribute about 10 270 full-time equivalent jobs in the 2011-12 financial year through its social responsibility implementation programme and the tourism enterprise partnership programme.
The government will work towards increasing the number of tourism programmes and projects led by and benefiting communities. Earlier, the chairperson and other members mentioned some of the department's programmes. These we will implement in our efforts to contribute to the creation of a skills base for the industry and job opportunities, especially for young people. They include the following.
The National Youth Chefs Training Programme, with an intake of about 800 unemployed young people over a three-year period. A budget of R25 million has been allocated for the first year.
The Hospitality Youth Initiative is a training and experiential placement project for unemployed youth. The initial target was 300 young people. This has been increased to about 800, with a budget of R15 million, up from R7 million.
The Tourism Buddies Youth Project, with a budget of R39 million. This is a tourism and hospitality training and experiential placement programme with an intake of 975 young people who are to be trained nationally. We hope to extend this annual project in the next financial year pending its performance, the availability of funding and demand.
As part of the National Tourism Sector Strategy, we are focusing on rural tourism. The development of rural areas is an identified priority area for government during this electoral mandate period. Therefore we will have to promote investment in the development of tourism products and attractions in rural areas.
For rural tourism development to have a significant pro-poor impact on communities, an effective strategy consisting of strategic interventions by government that allow poor people better access to revenues accruing to the tourism market, is in the process of being developed.
We are working closely together with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to finalise the rural tourism strategy. This builds on the strategy developed in the 2010-11 financial year. The department intends supporting and training 530 rural enterprise programmes on tourism awareness, customer service and toolkits during the current financial year.
Working together with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Salga and other partners, we will develop a comprehensive framework for tourism with local government support. This is in recognition of the role that provincial and local government play in the tourism value chain, either directly or indirectly.
The framework will take into account the impact of local government bylaws and rates and taxes on the tourism sector, as well as the cost of doing business at a locality. It will look at tourism asset management, local safety, information, structures, and infrastructure, among other things. It will also look at the harmonisation of policies and/or bylaws that have direct implications for tourism products across provinces.
The department has also put together a plan to roll out a series of road shows to provinces with the aim of engaging provincial government departments and stakeholders. Among others things, the road shows will afford the department the opportunity to share with provinces their projects linked to the National Tourism Sector Strategy and to explore further discussions on areas of co-operation.
Where issues of marketing are to be discussed, the department's delegation will include officials from SA Tourism and the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa.
One of the key discussion points will be on the development of a common budget structure for tourism. The aim of this is to make certain that resources are channelled to priorities as agreed to in the NTSS, with an emphasis on ensuring that we reach greater integration levels in all spheres of government and that there is an adequate spread of resources to cover areas such as marketing and grading.
On regional tourism development, it is becoming increasingly important that South Africa continues with its visible contribution to regional development. The NTSS is aimed at growing the value of regional tourism by establishing five SA Tourism offices on the continent by 2020. Statistics already indicate that there are markets within Africa that South Africa has not taken full advantage of.
With regard to our Indaba, Tourism Month and Welcome Awards, SA Tourism supported the department recently by holding a successful Tourism Indaba at the Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. Indaba is one of the largest tourism marketing events on the African calendar and one of the top three must-visit events of its kind on the global calendar.
It showcases the widest variety of South Africa's best tourism products, and attracts international visitors and media from around the world. For two years in a row Indaba has won the award for Africa's best travel and tourism show, which was presented by the Association of World Travel Awards.
Another high-level tourism event which will be hosted by the department is Tourism Month in September - not just for a day, but for the whole month. This will culminate in celebrating the UN World Tourism Organisation World Tourism Day.
One of the focus areas of the Department of Tourism is encouraging domestic tourism, and this event is aimed at stimulating South Africans to travel within their country and to appreciate and enjoy the beauty that the country has to offer.
This year will see the announcement of the revamped Tourism Excellence Awards during Tourism Month to ensure that there are premier, world-class tourism awards in the region and on the continent. The awards are aimed at rewarding and celebrating excellence in the sector, strengthening commitment by stakeholders towards building a sustainable industry, and profiling the industry competitively among other business sectors.
In conclusion, let me take this opportunity to thank my Minister for the leadership that he always displays. Although you give credit for enthusiasm, I am sure I am taking it from you, hon Minister. I would also like to thank our director-general and ambassador, Kingsley Makhubela, and his team in the department for their good work, SA Tourism and the industry as a whole, as well as the people of South Africa.
Without the people, we cannot do it. We are always saying our people must be given an opportunity to tell their own story about their country by being active participants. We therefore say, "Together we can do more". Thank you, Chairperson.
Chairperson, national Minister and Deputy Minister of Tourism, I also notice the Minister of Police, members of the NCOP and ladies and gentlemen, tourism has been confirmed as one of the cornerstones of the Northern Cape's economic development strategy.
Similar to international understanding, the value of tourism cannot be underestimated as it serves as a vehicle to achieve provincial government's priorities of job creation, poverty reduction and economic transformation.
A vision and a policy for tourism in the Northern Cape exist and are based on the contribution that the sector makes towards the social, economic and cultural growth of our province. Sustainable tourism growth and job creation therefore remain at the forefront of our minds, and the Northern Cape province will continue to make meaningful investment in the industry to ensure that the ultimate principles, as outlined in the tourism White Paper, are achieved. These principles, enshrined in the tourism White Paper, relate to the fact that tourism as a sector is government-led, private sector-driven and community-based.
The Northern Cape, with its breathtaking landscapes - I take this from Limpopo! - rugged mountains, endless flatlands, indigenous cultures of the Khoisan and Nama people and undulating dunes, has a lot to offer with regard to extreme tourism. The province therefore positions itself as an extreme tourism destination to satisfy the taste buds of adrenalin junkies around the world.
Through proper planning and organisation we will ensure that these extreme tourism enthusiasts cry out for more extreme sport, nature and cultural experiences.
To mention but a few, as most of you might be aware by now, the province will be hosting the world's best professional skateboarders who will come together in Kimberley from 30 September to 2 October 2011 to compete in the lucrative Maloof Money Cup international skateboarding championships. To echo the words of our Premier Hazel Jenkins: For the first time in the history of the event, the Maloof Money Cup will go beyond the shores of America to the African continent and more specifically right here in Kimberley, South Africa.
Entitled "Skateboarding for Hope" the championship aims to promote a positive and active lifestyle for the youth, thus contributing to education and the building of healthy communities. The Northern Cape province will become the hub for South African skateboarding enthusiasts, as we will be the home of state-of-the-art skateboarding to which none in the country can be compared. I think we can agree that this will be the second World Cup of 2010.
Another signature event to position the Northern Cape as an extreme destination is the Bloodhound Supersonic Car, which is an attempt to break the world land speed record of 1 000 km per hour. An annual wheels festival will be convened in the province and will attract both domestic and international participation in a luxury and exotic car rally.
Benefits accrued to the province, with regard to the Bloodhound Supersonic Car, include innovative research and exposing Northern Cape learners to the fields of aerodynamics, computation, fluid dynamics, material technology, composite manufacturing and sustainable high-technology engineering.
I believe there are also invitations nationally for other provinces to take part in such a programme, and therefore it will benefit the people of the different provinces.
The Northern Cape has recently completed its provincial tourism events management strategy. The main objective of the strategy is to increase awareness of the province as a tourist destination. Its second objective is to increase tourism volumes, while its third objective seeks to improve seasonality and geographic spread and spend of tourism income throughout the province.
With regard to sustainable tourism, ladies and gentleman, the development thereof and job creation remain at the forefront of our minds. The Northern Cape province will therefore continue to assist tourism entrepreneurs to market their products through viable and sustainable tourism practices that create the opportunity for visitors to experience the heart and soul of the province.
The provincial government will continue to invest in product development, enterprise support, training, marketing, infrastructure and environment management to ensure access to quality consumption of tourism products for visitors coming to the province.
Among the major impediments to tourism growth in the Northern Cape is air access. The tourism sector has the potential to experience growth as a result of increased air services. Air services make arrivals possible for both domestic and international tourists to the country and in this case to the province, which is a long-haul destination.
The value of tourism supports a wide range of tourism-related businesses and thus achieves government's priorities of job creation, poverty reduction and economic growth. The Northern Cape's geographic isolation, vastness and widely dispersed population density present a major challenge to the development and growth of its tourism sector.
Competitive aviation access is critical to the Northern Cape's tourism growth potential. The province has therefore seen the need to develop a tourism passenger airlift strategy. As the primary purpose of air access is to stimulate visitor arrivals, the overarching strategy is thus defined as a growth strategy that intends to provide for an increase in air access, which might result in an increase in the number of tourists in the province. In essence, this strategy has a circular effect, which means that an increase in air access stimulates an increase in tourist numbers.
Chair, let me pause and just cite an example, which I think South Africa can learn from. In America, in the 1980s, they had a system to support the domestic growth with regard to tourism where they had seasonal air tickets valid for about three months. A person could travel anywhere in the country to a destinationof his or her choice, stay overnight there and travel somewhere else the next day.
If we are serious in this country we would include the country as a whole and all provinces in development and job creation, and I think that might be a superb example with which to experiment. We can even take it - after what was said in the speeches of the Minister and the Deputy Minister - to the Southern African countries. There will then be such an idea where you buy a ticket and can travel throughout Southern Africa to different states or countries.
The purpose of this strategy is to provide direction and guidance, and in this case for the development of passenger air access into and within the province. The main purpose of the strategy is not to develop transport, in this case aviation transport, but to use air access to stimulate tourism demand into the province.
Therefore, as a province we say there is a need for very good relationships between the Departments of Transport and Tourism, because in a way they work hand in glove.
At one stage in our province we had a meeting with Airports Company South Africa, ACSA, because the province can rightfully complain about their services. It seems as if air traffic and the relevant services are neglected and we would like to put on record that from the province's side we did do something about it. We need the support of the national government to get away from the various obstacles that we might experience.
There is a range of additional challenges confronting the Northern Cape tourism sector. Significantly, among these are changing consumer patterns towards shorter holidays and a growing tendency to choose destinations closer to home. These trends, in particular, present significant challenges for the long-haul destinations, such as South Africa, and require effective marketing approaches, as well as adequate and efficient air services to ensure that the market share is not eroded.
Our marketing efforts will focus on building consumer preference and providing access to a wide range of experiences, while international marketing will focus on building awareness of the Northern Cape as a tourism destination.
In conclusion, the province is hard at work to ensure the growth of the tourism sector, as we have taken a conscious decision to confirm it as one of the key pillars on which our economy should grow.
We commit ourselves, as a provincial government, to continue to invest in this sector and to ensure that the people of the province form an integral part of these sectors both as participants and consumers of tourism services.
We will not succeed alone in growing this tourism sector, but will require the valuable and sought-after assistance of the private sector, and of local, national and provincial governments. The integration of efforts among tourism stakeholders and partners is crucial and valuable to the growth of the tourism sector. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, I must say I was very tempted to engage in a political debate, specifically with the MEC of the Northern Cape, regarding the reasons why the ANC lost so much support, specifically in the province. [Interjections.] But after she spoke so passionately about the Northern Cape and so on, I will continue to do the same.
South Africa was named an outstanding tourism destination at the annual World Travel Awards for Africa in July 2010, as well as Africa, Indian Ocean and Gulf States Golf Destination of the Year 2011 by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators.
Moreover, the success of Fifa has provided us with a sound basis to boost Tourism South Africa locally and abroad. The department has come a long way, but much more needs to be done to ensure that all South Africans enjoy the benefits of tourism.
The aim of this department is to create positive conditions for sustainable tourism growth and development for the benefit of all South Africans. A budget of R1,2 billion for 2011-12 has been allocated, of which the Department of Tourism has to contribute R180 billion to the country's gross domestic product by 2015.
Along with this challenge, the department also faces a number of internal challenges. Firstly, in 2010-11 the department only managed to achieve 60% of its target with regard to skills development. Secondly, we have also experienced a decline in domestic trips taken, as well as in the cost per trip.
Thirdly, one of the biggest challenges facing this department is the fact that only 48% of South Africans participate in domestic tourism. Therefore stimulating domestic travel, as indicated by various speakers, will be the single biggest contributor to establishing sustainable businesses and jobs in the industry.
Fourthly, in order to create favourable conditions for domestic tourism growth we need to start at the root. Tourism features very low on the priority outputs of local municipalities because of the other top priority needs, such as water, infrastructure and electricity.
Furthermore, the lack of specific budget allocations for the development of tourism at local government level is problematic and results in unsustainable initiatives. These issues further contribute to the existing problem of poor planning and co-ordination at ground level.
DG Kingsley Makhubela has questioned whether the billions that are spent on the three spheres of government in marketing the country constitute good value for money. I agree with him. It is therefore vital to synergise policies and to ensure that all spheres of government streamline their work when marketing the country.
The DG also pointed out that South Africa's hotels and travel levies have become too expensive, thereby inhibiting domestic travel. One of the ways to address the issue of expensive domestic travel is the one that the hon MEC of the province referred to. We must open the air space of the rural areas.
Instead of Johannesburg operating as the hub for internal flights, cities such as Cape Town and Durban should also be considered. This will ensure cheaper flights to a variety of areas in South Africa. To this end, Springbok, Upington and even Beaufort West should be explored as possible options.
Finally, the Department of Tourism has the potential to change the lives of ordinary South Africans. In order to achieve this, though, specific emphasis should be placed on job creation, industry and skills development. I thank you.
Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members, firstly I would like to thank the hon member Abrahams for highlighting the Western Cape's successes. The Western Cape wants to commend the national Department of Tourism, SA Tourism and the entire industry for registering the highest growth in international arrivals in many years. Although the 15,1% achieved in 2010 comes on the back of a highly successful Soccer World Cup, it was achieved when the world economy was recovering from one of the worst economic downturns. We need to build on this performance.
The 2010 Soccer World Cup has also opened up new markets, and the Western Cape agrees with Minister Van Schalkwyk that those markets need to be explored without compromising our presence in the core markets of Western Europe and North America. The Western Cape's marketing agency is in fact working very closely with the national Department of Tourism and SA Tourism when engaging these new markets.
The Western Cape understands the important role that business and events tourism plays in driving the tourism economy, and therefore there is a need for the national Department of Tourism to lead discussions for the development of a mega-events strategy that will assist in positioning the province to increase business tourism.
Although the Western Cape supports the idea of a national conventions bureau, we need clarity on the role that this institution will play in relation to the Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau as the provincial destination marketing organisation.
The Western Cape agrees with the critical role that events play in promoting and growing a destination and looks forward to additional support from the department and SA Tourism in respect of our iconic events such as the Jazz Festival, Cape Minstrel marches, the Cape Epic race, the Cape to Rio yacht race and other events.
The Western Cape fully supports the National Tourism Sector Strategy in driving the tourism economy with a key focus on creating jobs with the help of the national Department of Tourism and Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP. The national Department of Tourism has identified infrastructure development as a way of responding to some of the challenges of meeting its targets for job creation.
In addition, we believe it is a favourable improvement that soft skills are also considered for tourism EPWP funding. The Western Cape wishes to stress that the national department should continue to work with both the respective provincial and national governments in finalising the projects that receive funding.
The Constitution provides that tourism is a concurrent competence between national and provincial governments and that local government is responsible for local tourism. This is our greatest strength in providing the necessary strategic emphasis to grow the tourism industry as a priority sector.
It is also a sector in which we experience the greatest challenges with regard to public sector roles, responsibilities and budgets between the three spheres of government. We need to understand our respective roles and mandates in order to have alignment and an impact on delivery. We need the national Minister to drive discussions that will lead to this common understanding.
The Western Cape looks forward to closer co-operation and alignment between the tourism institutions at national, provincial and local level. I thank you.
Chair, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in South Africa, as highlighted in the New Growth Path. Its potential to contribute towards job creation, poverty alleviation and the gross domestic product has been acknowledged by our government.
While national and provincial tourism organisations are chiefly responsible for the design and implementation of tourism strategies, as well as national and international marketing campaigns, it is the local government authorities that often shoulder the responsibility for promoting and supporting local tourism products. There is no doubt that local tourism, as it relates to general development, is a missed opportunity according to the White Paper of 1996.
There is a need to widen the focus of local government's impact on tourism and product development in how we manage our socioeconomic environment and provide services to our communities. Local government should ideally have the ability to support tourism. It is also important to note that municipalities are not homogenous in nature and therefore operate in a differentiated manner. The key roles or functions of municipalities when it comes to tourism include the following.
Firstly, they provide a strategic and operational role in maintaining a high-quality physical environment. Secondly, they serve as a facilitator to ensure that the needs of the whole destination - including residents, businesses and the environment - are represented and considered in the management of tourism.
They also provide links and continuity of policy between and across all municipal services, such as economic development planning, land use management, environmental health and roads; are a catalyst for partnerships by driving inward and external investment; co-ordinate and drive local tourism development by ensuring quality information services provision; and also drive an economic development agenda.
The role and profile of local government has recently been enhanced by the Cabinet-approved National Tourism Sector Strategy, NTSS. This strategy not only represents the core strategy document of government with respect to tourism, but also serves as a tool with which to drive change and improve the performance and competitiveness of the sector.
The NTSS recognises local government as a key partner of stakeholders in achieving the outcomes of the strategy. This is highlighted in various areas including in ensuring the geographic spread of tourism beyond just the conventional markets, with a special focus on rural tourism in terms of rural municipalities; ensuring responsible tourism, especially on projects that benefit the community; creating a single knowledge platform for tourism, data collection and information dissemination; developing a comprehensive framework for actively supporting local government in terms of local tourism development; funding of budgeting for tourism initiatives, skills and capacity to support tourism initiatives; asset identification and tourism infrastructure investment; and tourism-friendly bylaws and managing tourism information, including signage and information centres.
We, as Salga, therefore acknowledge that government has begun to see local government's role both in terms of the supply and demand of tourism growth and development. There are, however, a number of challenges that are hampering an integrated and co-ordinated approach towards tourism between governments at all levels. These include inadequate working relationships on tourism-related issues between municipalities and national regional stakeholders, resulting in a lack of partnership or a collective approach to planning for tourism.
As Salga, we believe that these challenges need to be addressed as local government would like to be on board to work closely with the department in achieving its key performance indicators, as highlighted in the Budget Vote, with particular focus on a number of tourism projects in the rural areas, as well as tourism interventions to facilitate, guide and support product development.
Currently, Salga is working closely with the department and the Development Bank of Southern Africa, DBSA, to outline or propose a comprehensive local government support programme, which fits in and can be aligned with all three of the department's strategic programmes. For example, under Tourism Development, which is Programme 2, there needs to be better co-ordination of funding of tourism projects.
While there is a variety of funding sources for existing tourism projects from national programmes, development agencies, provinces, foundations, as well as within other departments, such as Transport, Safety and Security and Arts and Culture, there is very limited co-ordination or alignment. There is also much criticism of the helicopter projects that appear in municipal spaces without the municipality's involvement or buy-in.
There is a need for guidelines that stipulate what conditions need to be in place in order to fund tourism plans and to improve the appropriateness of these plans and their likely implementation. When it comes to local government's role in supporting the tourism sector and small and medium- sized enterprise development, there are existing barriers.
These barriers include insufficient funding for businesses and not many options being readily available to encourage small-scale business development. Appropriate strategic support for entrepreneurs needs to be provided, but the capacity at municipal level to support the emerging tourism industry is not available.
Under Tourism Growth, which is Programme 3, we are proposing a greater emphasis on tourism awareness, capacity-building and guidance for municipalities. The level of expertise and focus that local municipalities have in these areas varies considerably and has resulted in uneven visitor and community experiences.
There needs to be a greater focus or investment to assist in the development of capacity and investment for local government to realise tourism opportunities. In the past the approach was just on having a few days of capacity-building training on what tourism is and the principles of responsible tourism. However, this did not result in a buy-in or improved implementation.
On Tourism Policy, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, which is Programme 4, there are two key areas Salga wishes to highlight. The first revolves around unpacking and understanding spatial differentiation and unlocking tourism potential.
Not all municipal spaces are equal with regard to public, private or community capacity and social capital. Not all spaces are equal regarding tourism potential. While tourism cannot be developed everywhere, destinations with tourism potential can lead to robust economic development.
A spatial approach to tourism development which identifies high priority areas in the country may be a more strategic approach than a municipal bottom-up, supply-led approach, which presupposes that all spaces have equal potential and capabilities, and that detailed tourism plans are necessary in each and every area. The second area includes tourism research and information as it pertains to local government.
Not only is there a lack of information on trends locally, regionally, nationally and globally, but there is also a lack of information to guide investment by the private sector in particular, business and funding models; components of market and financial feasibility studies; and industry performance and sources of finances.
We are excited about the new stand-alone Department of Tourism, as tourism has been identified as one of the three important industries that can facilitate economic growth and thus contribute to halving poverty and unemployment by 2014 in terms of our country's Millennium Development Goals.
We are also excited about forging new and strong partnerships between national, provincial and local government in order to ensure that the implementation of local programmes stemming from national and provincial imperatives does take place. The successful programmes of the Department of Tourism need to work in partnership with key stakeholders and not in a parallel or conflicting manner.
Salga appreciates being part of the partnership and influencing these outcomes. I thank you very much, Chair. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister of Tourism, Minister of Police, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Deputy Minister of Police, hon members, South Africa's New Growth Path, approved in October last year, also identified tourism as one of the six core pillars of growth.
The Ipap 2 indicates that tourism is one of the areas expected to contribute to the development of, among other things, rural areas and culture, and highlights the huge potential of increased local consumption due to domestic tourism which educates and brings about socialisation as well as the preservation of cultural heritage.
That document clearly indicates that tourism brings about foreign investment, consumer spending and foreign earnings. It is fairly easy for entrepreneurs to enter tourism. It is a sector founded on sustainable resources and provides for a large, mass labour force.
It is also important to recognise that tourism plays a role in strategically creating and strengthening international relations in order to build beneficial socioeconomic and political networks. Therefore, investment in tourism has to be leveraged to contribute to national growth and sustainable development.
Tourism, even though not yet classified as an economic sector in the national system of accounts, has become a great contributor to national accounts and thus requires investment in line with tourism performance indicators, the gross domestic product and revenue targets.
According to the Ipap 2, niche tourism development and tourism export development and promotion are, among other things, the key investment areas to ensure tourism performance and economic growth. The tourism industry cannot exist without partnerships and collaboration. Visitors are looking for a great experience that can be achieved only if the various tourism partners work together. Sound partnerships form the basis of any successful tourism industry. These partnerships include the private sector and local communities.
In most successful tourism destinations around the world the domestic market forms the backbone of the tourism industry. This should become a strategic choice that is informed by the extent of this market's potential and the budgeted return on investment. In South Africa, many South Africans have not had an opportunity to undertake holiday travel within their own country because of the apartheid history.
Although general tourism awareness will assist in developing the domestic tourism market in general, domestic tourism development requires attention to broader marketing, product development, distribution, information and possible social tourism programmes. While tourism has been recognised as an important sector, this recognition does not filter down to planning, budgets and actions across all government departments and levels. As the industry is complex and influenced by multiple sectors, many of the areas that are to be addressed to improve its performance are not directly within the national Department of Tourism's control.
It is therefore crucial that the profile of the industry is raised at national government level and here within Parliament to ensure that the relevant national government departments understand its importance and impact, and co-operate and assist where necessary, with relevant budget allocations that take the development requirements of the industry into account.
General co-ordination needs to be improved between all departments that have an impact on tourism, to ensure that they consider the interests of tourism when developing and implementing their own strategies and actions.
This brings me to a matter of great concern. When the DA took over the management of Cape Town and the Western Cape province, the MEC for finance, economic development and tourism vowed from the word go that he would address the strained relationship between Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited, as far as each body's marketing of Cape Town, in particular, but also of the Western Cape province, is concerned. I would not be remiss in saying that the relationship appears to have become more, rather than less, strained.
One does not need to go back far in history to observe a picture of continuous turmoil in the tourism industry.
Is the hon Adams prepared to take a question?
Moenie bang wees nie, Freddie! [Don't be afraid, Freddie!]
No, I am busy with my speech.
While Cape Town Tourism was marketing Cape Town, and the Western Cape Tourism Board marketed the province, a harmonious relationship existed between the two tourism bodies, one funded by the City of Cape Town, and the other by the province.
When the MEC for finance, economic development and tourism and his counterpart in the City of Cape Town met in 2009, the two marketing partners agreed that they would encourage co-operation and avoid duplication where possible. The industry was told that a strategy of coexistence between the two bodies would be presented to it.
However, the MEC changed his mind and made the shock announcement that he was pushing for the speedy implementation of a new, efficient destination marketing model so that the region could benefit from the current window of opportunity created by the Soccer World Cup. Why did he not get his act together and create a united body before the World Cup when it was needed most?
Tourism in the Western Cape is in turmoil. While the DA does not want to realise this or recognise it, it is in turmoil.
Dit gaan nie so goed nie. Dit het 'n speelbal geword vir die DA om vir allerlei verskuilde redes truuks uit te haal en speletjies te speel.
Kaapstad, Tafelberg, die Kaapse Blommeryk, Robbeneiland, die Tuinroete en selfs ander kenmerke van toerisme het van hierdie streek 'n gesogte, internasionale bestemming gemaak. Dit is 'n produk sonder veel mededingers in die internasionale mark. Dit bied 'n natuurskone produk, met 'n eie kultuurbelewenis asook 'n stedelike gevoel, waarby talle nuuskierige toeriste aanklank vind.
Die eerste probleem met die DA se inmengery is dat hulle die Kaapse Klopse- karnaval wil afkamp. Hulle wil vir hierdie tradisionele optog besluit waar, wanneer en indien hulle mag loop.
Tweede Nuwejaar is 'n eg Kaapse tradisie wat deur slawe begin is, wat weggeloop het op die dag wat hul eienaars van hul babalaas tuis herstel het. Hulle het allerlei kostuums aangetrek en selfs hul gesigte vermom deur dit te verf of te besmeer. Wat weet iemand wat van die Noordwes kom, van die Klopse? (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Things are not going very well. It has become a plaything for the DA for all kinds of obscure reasons to perform tricks and to play games.
Cape Town, Table Mountain, the Cape Floral Region, Robben Island, the Garden Route, and even other tourism sites have made this region a sought- after, international destination. It is a product with few competitors in the international market. It offers a product of natural beauty, providing its own cultural experience together with an urban feel which is finding favour with numerous curious tourists.
The first problem with the interference by the DA is that they want to confine the Cape Minstrel Carnival. They want to decide for this traditional parade where, when and whether they may march.
"Tweede Nuwejaar" [Second New Year's Day] is a genuine Cape tradition, which was started by slaves who absconded on the day their owners were recovering from their hangovers at home. They would dress up in all kinds of costumes and even disguise their faces by painting or covering them with paint. What does someone from the North West know about the Klopse?]
The hon Groenewald does not know anything about the Klopse.
Hulle het dan gewys wat hulle kan doen. Hul sang en musiektalent is vertoon ...
'n AGB LID: Wat weet jy van die Klopse? (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[They have showed what they are capable of. Their singing and musical talent were displayed ...
What do you know about the Klopse?]
Hon member, don't respond to other members.
Dit is iets wat deur die stelsel en onmenslike eienaars van hulle geroof is. Die DA het doelbewus hierdie inheemse mense met geld en ander ondersteuning gesnoep. In plaas daarvan om 'n eiesoortige fees te ondersteun en uit te bou, wil die DA 'n volksvreemde fees invoer.
Daar moet gekyk word na Robbeneiland. Wanneer dit die DA in 'n verkiesing pas, wil hulle oud-President Mandela se nalatenskap eer. Dit was die DA wat tot 'n groot mate die vestiging van hierdie Wrelderfenisgebied bevraagteken het. Talle van hulle was nog nooit op Robbeneiland om te gaan kyk wat ons ikoon, oud-President Mandela, moes deurmaak om die vader van ons vryheid en demokrasie te wees nie.
Nou kla dieselfde DA steen en been oor die heen en weer van die bote na die eiland en wil hulle die ANC vir alles blameer, maar die toeriste se geld is welkom in Kaapstad! Inteendeel, die DA maak groot gewag van die toeriste se belange en hul geld in die Wes-Kaapse ekonomie.
Wat doen die DA daaraan? Nie veel nie. Die DA ry hoofsaaklik op die nasionale regering se rug, maar om elke hoek en draai wil die party die nasionale regering verkwalik vir alles wat nie reg is nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr F ADAMS: This is something which they were robbed of by the system and by inhumane owners. The DA has deliberately deprived these indigenous people of money and other forms of support. Instead of supporting and expanding a unique festival, the DA wants to import an alien festival.
Robben Island should be given consideration. When it suits the DA during an election, they want to honour the legacy of former President Mandela. It was the DA who to a large extent questioned the establishment of this World Heritage Site. Many of them have never been to Robben Island to see what our icon, former President Mandela, had to endure to become the father of our freedom and democracy.
Now the selfsame DA is complaining bitterly about the boats going to and from the island, and wants to blame the ANC for everything, but the money spent by tourists is welcome in Cape Town! On the contrary, the DA refers constantly to the interests of tourists and their money in the Western Cape's economy.
What does the DA do about this? Not much. The DA mainly rides on the back of the national government, but at every turn they want to lay the blame for everything that has gone wrong on the national government.]
This ANC-led government will continue to deliver. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. I thank you.
Hon Chair, you did not give me a chance. It was the National Party to which hon Freddie belonged and not the DA. [Interjections.]
Chairperson, I would like to thank all hon members for their contributions. There were three themes that ran through most of the contributions.
The first was the issue of the potential of the tourism industry to create jobs and to contribute towards economic growth. The second issue was airlifts, which was mentioned by quite a number of members. The third was our reputation as a value-for-money destination and the price of our products. I will respond to those issues and also refer to some of the hon members individually.
On the issue of our industry's potential as a job creator and its contribution to economic growth, some numbers have been bandied about in the House, but just think of the following: In 1950, globally, there were only 25 million international arrivals.
In 2008, 58 years later, there were 880 million. From 2008 to 2020, that 880 million will grow to 1,6 billion, which will almost be double. What took 58 years will now just take 12 years.
Either we in South Africa are part of that or it will pass us by. We have to position ourselves to be part of that. We have to open up and ensure air access. We should make it a point that there are as many airlines flying here as possible, bringing as many people as possible.
I am also convinced - on the basis of the historical factors that the hon member Adams mentioned - that we should also convince our own people that they should be tourists in their own country. Not only will they enjoy it, but they will also contribute to economic growth.
This industry worldwide is already bigger than the banking industry and many other prominent industries. In South Africa we have started realising the huge potential that is locked up in this industry.
On the issue of airlift, what we have done as Cabinet is that in 2006 we adopted the so-called airlift strategy. It was basically an approach to phase in liberalisation, from where we had a total overprotection of our national airline and kicked other airlines out, to put it bluntly, to slowly open up airlift to South Africa. This would ensure that our own airlines start adapting and could compete in a more competitive way, and allow other airlines in.
That changed our definition of "national interests". In the past, "national interests" for us meant we had to protect our own national airlines at all costs - as many other airlines who don't understand the new game are still doing. We protect our own airlines, but force them to adapt, so that we get people here who will contribute to our economic growth.
At the moment we have just more than 50 national airlines flying here. Internationally, we are doing much better. We are much better connected. Later this year, our national airline will start flying directly to Beijing for the first time. We are already flying directly from Johannesburg to Hong Kong. That will start opening up the very important new Chinese market for us.
It is on the domestic front where I think there is a concern. If we look at certain other routes, Cape Town to Johannesburg and Johannesburg to Durban, the price of tickets has actually dropped over the past few years. It is now possible to fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town and Johannesburg to Durban for R600 to R700 in the cheaper category flights.
This was not possible about three to four years ago. On some of the other routes like Cape Town-Kimberley-Upington, it is sometimes more expensive than flying from Cape Town to London or Johannesburg to London.
I have heard what the hon member Sinclair said, but I don't think it is an issue of where the hubs are, because the hub-and-spoke model is here to stay. That is the successful model according to which airlines govern themselves the world over. This is because it cuts down on overheads as it allows more competition on those routes.
In my view that is something that the regulator should look at and we are continually discussing it with them. We believe that the space should be opened up for more competition and that it will start driving down the prices.
The third issue was that of our reputation as a value-for-money destination. We have never marketed ourselves as a cheap destination. We have always said that we offer value for money. We are not expensive, but we give tourists value for their money.
It is correct - and there have been signs that we also became aware of - that some of the products on the market started to price themselves at a level which in our view was difficult to defend.
There are a few options for government. Either we can say that we are in favour of price capping or that these are the guidelines. All countries that experimented with either price capping or guidelines from government for products in the private sector in the tourism industry have burnt their fingers. The market should determine the price of products.
Therefore we have started to engage the industry. I must say that I have to commend the industry for taking the lead themselves and saying that they needed to do something. If hon members go to hotels in Cape Town, they will see what has happened to prices of hotel rooms over the last six months. There is clearly an adjustment in the market. The market is responding to that perception or to the reality that some products are too expensive.
I would like to thank the hon member Gamede, the chairperson of the Select Committee on Tourism, for his contribution. Apart from other issues, he mentioned two important ones that I would like to respond to. The one is that of the new conventions bureau and the fact that although we have always been a leisure destination, we understand that there are new subsectors that we should develop. The hon member referred to conventions and business-incentive-meetings tourism. The role of that conventions bureau will be vital. Some of the other hon members also mentioned this. It will have to co-ordinate our bids, internationally, for major events. We have actually lost out on major events to be held in this country because Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg undermine each other.
They all bid for the same event. In trying to be successful, they always told the decision-makers, "You know, we are actually better than the other cities for the following reasons ...". As a country, we should tell ourselves that there is a national interest.
There are some things that we should sort out at home. We should bid as a country, supporting the city that we think is the best suited to host a specific event. It might be Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, or whichever one. That is one of the most important functions of the new conventions bureau.
The hon member also mentioned the issue of the provinces and he mentioned some examples. I think the hon MEC Williams referred to the Northern Cape and what they were doing. I must commend them. They understand that in certain areas they cannot compete with the Western Cape, Mpumalanga or Limpopo and that they have to develop products that are unique to the Northern Cape.
That is why they focus on adventure tourism. The MEC also mentioned some of the examples. It is important that provinces should ask themselves what is unique to them or to their municipalities, and what would make them and the areas they represent more competitive.
I must commend the hon member Abrahams. She made a very good contribution, apart from the first 30 seconds! [Laughter.] Let me respond to those first 30 seconds, because in that there was a lesson. I have heard all the members listening to members of other parties.
To say that the Western Cape won the competition because the DA is governing, is false. [Applause.] There are many competitions. Sometimes Durban and other municipalities like Overberg District Municipality win them. It is good for all of us. There are some things in politics that unite us - foreign direct investment, protection of human rights, the tourism potential of the country and how we protect our people. Later on you will be debating the Police budget. Those are issues where you shouldn't say the ANC, DA or Cope did this or that, but rather that South Africa did it.
Tourism is like that. When we go to international events, I don't go there and tell the buyers that Cape Town is nice, but that they should rather buy into KwaZulu-Natal because the ANC is governing there. No, I go there and market the country.
As the ANC we feel very strongly about that responsibility. We fight our campaigns out there and try to convince people to vote for us - all of us do that. There will be a winner and those that might not win on a particular day. Whoever is in government should act as a government. We in the ANC understand that very well. If we were also doing the same thing, we would come to the Western Cape and tell them that when it comes to social grants, we would like to know who belongs to the ANC or the DA. We can never do that - never ever.
We can never say we are not going to give money to a certain school because it is probably in a DA area. We can never do that. As government, and especially as members of this House, we should realise that sometimes it is legitimate to debate a matter as a party and that on other issues we should not bring in party politics. We should work together for the sake of the country and ensure that we are successful.
The hon member Von Brandis actually put it very well. I thought maybe it was only Cope which had two parties in the party, but I am not quite sure anymore. [Laughter.] He put it very well when he said that we should align our efforts.
Therefore, next month I want to be able to say to the MEC in the Western Cape, as I do with the MEC in KwaZulu-Natal - and the mayors - that I think we should invest in the tourism potential of their area. We should do so because we know that when the people who will benefit are poor, it doesn't matter if they are ANC, DA or Cope and so on. This is because when poverty enters their front door, it is our humanity that is much more important than the card we are carrying. Let us sometimes debate the party issues, but when we come to others, let's do what is honourable and proper.
The hon member referred to the chef's programme. Let me just say that 800 young people across all provinces are being trained. She specifically asked about the Western Cape. About 180 young people are being trained. It has been rolled out to all provinces and will cost us R30 million. People should have matric and be unemployed to be able to apply for that project.
I just wanted to go back to the hon Gamede, who asked a question relating to business tourism. Over the next five years we have already secured 200 conferences. This translates into 300 000 delegates that will come here and a potential economic impact of R1,6 billion. That is sizeable. It is already a good first step, but we can do better than that.
On the issue of airlift, I will only say something about the low-cost airlines and products. Members of the committee should actually look at this issue and invite some of the people in the industry to come and brief them. We must ensure that it becomes more and more affordable for all our people.
The low-cost airlines brought about the revolution in this country in terms of airlift and air access. Once they start flying on this continent, there will be a revolution and we should encourage all efforts to make sure that the low-cost airlines start considering flying on our continent.
In my first intervention I referred to our markets, but the African markets are there to be taken. We have wasted a number of years allowing people in Africa to go to Europe and other destinations if they could afford it, instead of coming to South Africa.
Yes, there is a lot of poverty on our continent, but there are millions of people who can afford to travel. The first time they might come here and do some shopping, but the second time around they might come as tourists to do some shopping and visit some of our attractions.
I believe that those were some of the important issues that were mentioned by the members. I am quite sure that if there are other issues on which you would like us to elaborate and to further engage with you in discussions, from the department's side, we would be available. I am also available. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.