Question NW2238 to the Minister of Tourism

Reply:

The audit that the Department conducted in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) provided a baseline of municipal and provincially owned tourism assets. This report was made available to all provinces for their project and budget planning purposes of their tourism assets.

Over the past three financial years the Department continued to support projects that were identified by municipalities and provinces. Details of these projects can be requested from the relevant provinces. For example, under the SRI programme, for example, the Grahamstown Caravan Park in the Eastern Cape was refurbished, and the Platfontein Lodge in the Northern Cape was upgraded.

In the past financial year, the Department was able to develop the Infrastructure and Investment Master Plan. The Master Plan includes the catalytic projects with high impact and fair provincial geographic spread.

The Infrastructure Master Plan provides a national framework which will serve as a guideline for the development and maintenance of tourism infrastructure across the country. The framework has set out objectives and will address the infrastructural challenges or gaps which exist in state owned underutilised properties in order to stimulate tourism growth.

The Department does not have sufficient funds to finance the refurbishment of all municipal resorts, thus municipalities must take responsibility for the maintenance and management of their resorts. The successful implementation of the initiatives aimed at sustainability of some of these resorts rest with the owning municipalities as they would need to decide on the adoption of such proposed funding and operating models. The role of the department is to highlight such opportunities and where possible facilitate partnerships.