Question NW904 to the Minister of Tourism
06 April 2023 - NW904
Ismail, Ms H to ask the Minister of Tourism
What are the plans of her department to mitigate the impact of (a) load shedding, (b) the fuel shortage at our airports as the specified fuel shortage negatively impacts flight schedules and (c) climate change on the tourism industry as global warming is negatively affecting the tourism industry, such as rising sea levels, floods and/or drought?
Reply:
(a) I have been informed that the Department’s Green Tourism Incentive Programme assists in mitigating the impact of loadshedding on the tourism industry. The main objective of the GTIP is to encourage tourism establishments to adopt more energy and water efficient operational practices to ensure long term sustainability.
(b) The Department is not mandated to deal with the fuel shortage, but does engage with the industry as and when needed. The issue of fuel shortages is dealt with by relevant institutions i.e. Airports Company South Africa, Department of Transport and Airlines Association of Southern Africa. It is recommended that the member refer the above question to the above institutions.
(c) The Department’s Tourism and Climate Change Response Programme and Action Plan, developed in 2011, addresses both climate change mitigation and adaptation measures within the tourism sector.
The Response Programme and Action Plan were designed to deliver on the following five (5) outcomes:
- Improved understanding of the vulnerabilities of tourism to the physical impacts of climate change in order to build resilience and adaptive capacity of the industry;
- Reduced Tourism-related greenhouse gas emissions;
- A fully informed tourism industry through consistent and effective industry outreach and communications;
- A nationally consistent, inclusive and cooperative approach to implementation; and
- Maintain effective climate change messaging and positioning in our key markets.