Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, it is correct for the national Department of Tourism to be focusing sharply on responsible and environmentally sustainable tourism growth. Responsible tourism is required to promote our diversity, to conserve our heritage and to provide more enjoyable and memorable experiences for tourists through meaningful connections with local people, local culture and local social and environmental issues. Furthermore, it is required to encourage cultural sensitivity, respect between tourists and hosts, and the building of local pride and confidence.
This has been the goal for SA Tourism since 2002, when the Cape Town Declaration was signed. This goal still informs the vision and mission of the new department. But the question we need to ask is whether environmental integrity, social justice and the maximisation of economic benefits for local people, particularly the previously disadvantaged, has indeed occurred.
Clearly, the priority for South Africa in the medium term is for both social and distributive justice to be taken to the top of the agenda, particularly because we have become the most unequal society in the world. We in Cope are fully supportive of the goals of responsible and environmentally sustainable tourism growth, but what we now need is visible delivery in this regard.
Hon Minister, when will this good intention become a reality throughout the South African tourism industry? Currently, benefits accruing from tourism growth favour urban rather than rural areas, already established businesses rather than small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs. For much too long lip service has been paid to increasing investment in tourism in small towns and the rural areas of our country. Cope expects active implementation of the current medium-term strategy.
At least R750 million should be going into tourism infrastructure development in the rural provinces and in small towns. However, with a total budget of just over R1 billion, this may be hard to achieve. This is in spite of the fact that the tourism industry contributes substantially to the gross domestic product and job creation in this country. To be able to achieve the intended geographic spread of tourism growth, the department definitely deserves a better Budget Vote.
South Africa's small towns and rural areas offer abundant opportunities for cultural tourism, biotourism, geotourism, adventure tourism and history tourism. This government should make direct capital investment in rural areas and towns. After all, inbound tourism should find our rural areas as attractive as our urban areas, provided their tourist potential can be developed.
We also need to invest more in marketing domestic tourism. The majority of South Africans travel extensively to visit family and friends. They participate in events and other gatherings, but statistics show that most of them do not tour. The reasons are partly cultural and partly historical. It may also be that tourism products in South Africa are geared more for individuals and couples than for families, and costs could also be an inhibiting factor. Cope believes that in a country where we need to forge a common nationality, it is imperative that we, as South Africans, need other South Africans in facilities removed from our homes and workplaces. However, some facilities still actively discriminate against the country's majority population. This matter needs to be addressed.
All South Africans should be encouraged to visit the World Heritage Site at Sterkfontein, because if all of us understood that humanity evolved in Africa and that all of us carry the genes of an African mother - whether one believes this or not - it could help to shape our perceptions of one another.
Added to this is the hope that one of the legacies of the 2010 Fifa World Cup will be the promotion of social cohesion within our nation. From the two oversight tours that the committee undertook jointly with several other portfolio committees, it is clear that South Africans are indeed determined to make the event a huge success. This is in spite of some constraints, for example budgetary constraints, in venues such as Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg and Durban. But one thing is certain: the spirit is positive and Cope is behind Bafana Bafana.
However, there are disturbing concerns coming from some recent reports. It appears that the SMMEs feel left out of the possible economic benefits which the World Cup is expected to bring. It appears that only half the number of visitors projected to come for the World Cup will, in fact, be arriving on our shores next month. It also appears that only about 300 000 tickets for the World Cup were bought by soccer fans from outside the country.
Most tickets were bought in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Germany. Of course, we have always looked to these countries for the bulk of our tourists. But what went wrong that football fans from other football-crazy countries are not coming here in their numbers? Particularly disturbing is the minimal support from Africa. If this is the situation, hon Minister, can you still claim that tourism will contribute R15,6 billion to the country's economy, as projected earlier?
Could it be that the scare stories of violent crime and racial tension have put people off from coming here? What about the pricing structure adopted by the hospitality industry and airlines? Has this played any role in discouraging people from coming to South Africa? What have been the department's findings from the investigations carried out on this matter?
However, in conclusion, and on the positive side, Cope believes that South Africa has been and will remain a tourist Mecca. We have the climate, the natural beauty, the history and the facilities to attract people from within the country and from all over the world. All we need is to move beyond intention and planning into delivery mode. I thank you. [Applause.]