NATIONAL PARLIAMENT
(For Written Reply)
QUESTION NO. 1956
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 20
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 29 July 2011
Dr D T George (DA) to ask the Minister of Tourism:
(a) How many (i) international flights and (ii) domestic flights were
undertaken by (aa) him and (bb) his deputy minister using (aaa)
military aircraft, (bbb) chartered aircraft or (ccc) commercial
aircraft during the period 1 April 2010 up to the latest specified
date for which information is available, (b) what class did he and his
deputy minister travel in each case and (c) what amount did his
department spend with regard to each specified flight?
NW2194E
DR D T GEORGE (DA)
SECRETARY TO PARLIAMENT
HANSARD
PAPERS OFFICE
PRESS
1956. THE MINISTER OF TOURISM ANSWERS:
The Ministry of Tourism, Department of Tourism and its public entity South
African Tourism works collaboratively to fulfill our vision and mandate to
position South Africa as one of the top 20 tourism destinations globally by
2020, and to grow tourist arrivals and spend with a view to sustainable job
creation and economic growth. Our international and domestic travel
investments are guided by these strategic imperatives.
Official travel was undertaken to participate in Cabinet, Parliamentary and
other official duties directly related to the business of government,
including official state visits with the President and Deputy President and
destination marketing. Furthermore, we have various bilateral agreements,
and regional and international institutional obligations. Above all, we
have a legislative mandate to market SA internationally. We are extremely
proud of our achievements in all these respects.
South Africa recorded an exceptional 15.1% increase in tourist arrivals to
the country last year. In 2010 we saw more than 8 million tourist arrivals
(8 073 552) to the country compared to just over 7 million (7 011 865) in
2009. This compares very well in international terms. Figures from the
United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) show that global tourism
arrivals is estimated to have grown by 6.7% in 2010, which means that South
Africa outperformed the global market by more than 8%.
The 15.1% growth in tourist arrivals to South Africa outperformed that of
every other region in the world, including arrivals growth of 13.9% for the
Middle East, 12.6% for Asia and the Pacific, 7.7% for the Americas, 6.4%
for Africa and 3.2% for Europe. We are delighted with these strong growth
figures.
Growth was not driven only by the World Cup, as the figures show that
tourist arrivals performance in 2010 exceeded that of 2009 across all 12
months of the year. In terms of tourist arrivals to South Africa, we
recorded increases from all our markets, with the regional growth rates as
follows:
ÃÂ Â Europe 8.1%
ÃÂ Â North America 22.5%
ÃÂ Â Central and South America 109.2%
ÃÂ Â Australasia 26.3%
ÃÂ Â Asia 39.1%
ÃÂ Â Middle East 19.3%
ÃÂ Â Africa 12.8%
These figures provide a solid base on which we can build in terms of our
growth targets for emerging markets. From a tourism perspective we stand to
gain tremendously from our recent inclusion in the BRIC partnership and we
are aligning our planning and strategies accordingly.
We have continued this positive growth during this first quarter of this
year.
(a)(i)(aaa) Minister â None Deputy Minister - None
(a)(ii)(aaa) Minister âNone Deputy Minister - None
(a)(i)(bbb) Minister â 1 Deputy Minister - None
(a)(ii)(bbb) Minister â None Deputy Minister â None
(a)(ii)(ccc) Minister International trips - 18
Domestic - 52
Deputy Minister International trips -10
Domestic -85
(b) The class is dependent on availability, route and connections. Please
note that first class seats are in some instances cheaper than
business class seats due to special rates at certain given times.
Minister International - First / Business Class /
Economic
Domestic - Business Class / Economic
Deputy Minister International - First / Business Class
Domestic - Business Class / Economic
(c) Cost for 2010/2011 financial year:
Minister : International R1 584 883
Chartered to Lesotho R72 300
Costs were shared with the Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development
Domestic R299 160
Deputy Minister: International R991 028
Domestic R376 826
