Question NW1168 to the Minister of Tourism

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25 August 2020 - NW1168

Profile picture: De Freitas, Mr MS

De Freitas, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Tourism

With reference to tour offices of the Republic in countries worldwide, (a) what total number of tour offices does her department have in each country, (b) on what date was each office opened, (c) what are the monthly costs of each office, (d) what is the mandate of each office, (e) what (i) was the output of each office in the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 financial years and (ii) for the remainder of this financial year, (f) how is each office monitored and (g) to whom does each office report?

Reply:

a) South African Tourism has offices in 10countries globally operating as regional hubs and servicing key source markets.

b) On what date was each office opened?

AFRICA

AMERICAS

EUROPE

ASIA

AUSTRALASIA

Nigeria

US

Germany

UK

France

Netherlands

India

China

Japan

Australia

2014

1984

1960

1989

1993

1983

2004

2014

1978

2000

c) What are the monthly costs of each office?

AFRICA

AMERICAS

EUROPE

ASIA

AUSTRALASIA

Nigeria

US

Germany

UK

France

Netherlands

India

China

Japan

Australia

R1 066 796,98

R1 444 683,24

R1 196 157,23

R1 162 767,57

R1 144 239,24

R1 031 060,45

R1 313 938,18

R 866 063,72

R 534 334,97

R 868 375,25

d) What is the mandate of each office?

Each office operates as a regional hub servicing key source markets, to ensure effective marketing initiatives, support to the value chain partners and effective delegation of authority and responsibility. Mandate of each office is to drive number of international tourist arrivals into South Africa, increase tourist foreign direct spend, geographic spread, brand positivity and awareness.

(e )(i) What was the output of each office in the financial year?

The output achieved is through partnering with relevant travel trade in each of the markets that are serviced by the country offices in which it invests to maximise synergies, enhance tourist experiences and increase sales of packages to South Africa. Partnerships allow South African Tourism to reach a larger audience at a shared cost with the partner, while the partner is equipped with brand relevant content and tools.

COUNTRY OFFICE

( and the markets it serves)

2016/17- Arrivals

2017/2018- Arrivals

2018/19 - Arrivals

Nigeria

(IncludesGhana)

82 751

68 626

74 768

US

( Includes Canada)

406 192

437 903

444 671

Germany

(Include Austria and Switzerland)

394 548

437 837

431 668

UK

(Includes Ireland)

478 385

479 411

462 305

France

( Include Spain, Portugal and Italy)

292 494

335 666

323 641

Netherlands

(Include Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway)

297 152

320 275

310 258

India

(IncludeTurkey, UAE, Malaysia and Singapore)

121 298

135 336

126 998

China

(IncludesSouth Korea)

126 658

119 444

119 004

Japan

24 018

27 410

27 542

Australia

(IncludesNew Zealand)

115 611

133 351

131 059

e (ii)Remainder of this financial year.

South Africa has a goal of achieving 21 million international arrivals by 2030. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted the travel and tourism sector with borders closed and flights grounded. The forecast by the UNWTO is that global tourism will decline by 20-30%.

The pandemic has rendered South African Tourism’s current market investment portfolio outdated for this year. Plans are in place to review the market investment choices by revising and updating the Marketing Investment Framework. The revision will ensure that new variables and data are considered in the framework which will reflect the future tourism state post the pandemic and will allow South African Tourism to review market investment choices based on various scenarios.

f) How is each office monitored?

Activities at all global offices are monitored and evaluated through SA Tourism Strategy, Insights and Analytics (SIA) Unit as part of the organisational performance monitoring processes and the markets performance are reported quarterly. Furthermore, the compliance and governance are maintained through policies and processes and monitored through the Internal Audit Unit.

g) To whom does each office report

Each office reports to Regional General Managers based at the South African Tourism’s Head Office in Sandton. The reporting is structured as follows:

Reporting

Regional General Manager: Africa

Regional General Manager: Americas

Regional General Manager:

Europe

Regional General Manager:

Asia/Australasia/Middle East

Continent

AFRICA

AMERICAS

EUROPE

ASIA

AUSTRALASIA

Country Office

Nigeria

US

Germany

UK

France

Netherlands

India

China

Japan

Australia

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