Hansard: Debate on Vote No 35 – Tourism
House: National Assembly
Date of Meeting: 14 May 2013
Summary
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Minutes
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 27
START OF DAY
Tuesday, 14 may 2013
Proceedings of extended public committee – chamBer of the old assembly
____________
Members of the Extended Public Committee met in the Chamber of the Old Assembly at 10:04.
Mrs N J Ngele, as Chairperson, took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayer or meditation.
FIRST ORDER
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 27
START OF DAY
Appropriation bill
Debate on Vote No 35 – Tourism.
The MINISTER OF TOURISM: Chairperson, South Africa consists of a tapestry of interwoven cultures and the world's eyes have opened up like never before to the beauty, the diversity of experiences and the endless possibilities our country has to offer.
In 1993, our country received a mere 3,4 million foreign visitors.
However, it grew by 300% to 13,5 million visitors in 2012, and 9,2 million of whom were tourists. South Africa is continuing to entrench its status as a major international tourist and business events destination. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of our economic diplomacy, underpinned by a sound foreign policy. They also indicate our systematic investment as the national Department of Tourism in policy and strategy development and implementation.
We are driving a double-digit growth, as we received 10,2% more tourists in 2012, when 9,2 million international tourists visited our country shores compared to the 8,3 million tourists who travelled to our country in 2011. South Africa's tourist growth rate in 2012 was more than double the rate of average global tourist growth, which the UN World Tourism Organisation estimated at about 4%.
A few years ago, we made the strategic decision to invest in the emerging markets on our continent, in South America and also in Asia. The results in these markets were astounding. Arrivals from our continent have maintained the solid growth path to which we have become accustomed, with a growth of 8,5%. In light of this, we will invest R218 million over a three-year period to grow our share of this market even further. We will also be opening offices in Nigeria, Angola and Kenya in this financial year, and expand our footprint to Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda through a hub strategy.
From our Brics partner countries, we have also seen a phenomenal growth. A strong growth was particularly recorded in 2012 from Asia, which was up by 33,7% compared to the figures recorded in 2011, driven by growth from China and India. Central and South America recorded a growth of 37%; thanks to the continued good tourism growth from Brazil.
Brazil continued to show impressive growth rates, becoming a top ten overseas source market for arrivals for the first time, with almost a 45% increase compared to 2011. With the exceptional growth recorded from Brazil, we have decided to open a SA Tourism office in Brazil in this financial year. Added to this, we are currently negotiating a joint Brics memorandum of understanding among the tourism ministers.
The SA Tourism's global e-marketing strategy, Meet South Africa, will be the rolled-out this financial year. This strategy will focus on the uniqueness and warmth of our people and the emotional benefits of a South African holiday. And we are confident that our strategies and marketing campaigns will yield great success for our destination.
Furthermore, to strengthen the country's destination offering and enhancing the overall visitor experience, we have embarked on a process to align the branding and service levels at the more than 240 visitor information centres across our country.
Not only have we established ourselves as a leisure destination, but we have made great inroads as a business tourism destination, as well. In the first year of the establishment of the National Convention Bureau, it has secured 87 new association meetings for the period 2013 to 2017, which will contribute more than R2,6 billion to the economy. In 2013 alone, the 38 secured association meetings will bring more than 57 000 delegates to our country, who will inject R680 million into our economy.
We are working hard to ensure that travel and tourism becomes attainable for ordinary South Africans. At any given time, three quarters of all tourists in our country are South Africans, with domestic tourists having contributed R101 billion to our economy in 2011. We are determined to promote and enhance domestic tourism and implement strategies to grow the sector, which is the lifeblood of our tourism industry. Last year, we developed and implemented our first-ever Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy together with the Vaya Mzansi domestic tourism marketing campaign.
We are thinking innovatively of new ways to ensure that more South African families have access to the places that we have inherited as a nation. To truly deliver on the promise of tourism, we have to create the conditions that render the tourism experience and the treasures of our country accessible and affordable to a much greater share of our population. To this end, I can announce that, in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation, the IDC, we have just commissioned an audit of underutilised state assets and properties that could be developed into tourist attractions and facilities.
It is simply wrong to let state resources to stand vacant, while there is cropped-up demand in certain market segments. Pursuant to this, we have also commissioned a feasibility study for a pilot budget resort chain, which could, in some or other way, be de-risked through partnership approaches. And this will be aimed at people with an income of R5 000 and less per month
The time has come to remove the final barriers to fully unlock our country's tourism treasures and the intrinsic value of travelling for all South Africans, thereby bolstering our contribution to job creation and poverty alleviation.
In implementing our domestic tourism growth and cultural and heritage tourism strategies, we will also be conducting an assessment of all our world heritage sites, which, as part of the rich heritage of our country, have been identified as products with intrinsic tourism value.
From these assessments, it is envisaged that we will identify the various levels of intervention for each of the products and that, together with the Department of Arts and Culture, we will prioritise projects to be initiated from 2014 onwards. We have also developed marketing tools for these sites, which will be distributed at strategic areas, including ports of entry, missions and embassies throughout the world, using various languages and media.
The department is also in its first year of implementing regional tourism support packages. We have compiled provincial profiles to better understand the status quo of tourism in the nine provinces. Strategic and critical areas for tourism development were identified for support. The support ranges from tourism infrastructure development and, nodal and spatial development zones to skills development programmes, service excellence awareness and training, tourism routes development, rural tourism programmes and strategic niche tourism market development.
Tourism is a key sector of the economy, and is making a difference in the lives of ordinary South Africans. The role that tourism is playing in our country should never be underestimated. In terms of the latest Tourism Satellite Account released by Statistics SA, for the period ending December 2011, the direct tourism contribution to Gross Domestic Product went up by 5% - to R84,3 billion in 2011. Direct employment in the sector as a percentage of overall employment in the country went up from 4,3% to 4,5% between 2010 and 2011. This was as a result of the increase of about 31 000 indirect jobs in the sector from 2010, to a total direct employment rate of just over 598 000 in 2011.
During the past financial year, the NDT again exceeded its Expanded Public Works Programme, the EPWP, target for full-time equivalent jobs. Training or skills development is, of course, critical for our sector. Allow me to highlight some of our EPWP programmes.
In the 2012-13 financial year, 500 young persons have graduated as chefs and 120 of them have already been placed with established hospitality institutes, such as hotels, bed-and-breakfast establishments and restaurants, as part of our young chefs training programme.
Another 300 of the mentioned 500 have been enrolled for second-level training, which is equivalent to National Qualifications Framework, NQF, level five - the national diploma. And owing to the success of the programme, another 500 young people have been enrolled for the first time in the programme for this financial year.
This sector is also a fertile breeding ground for entrepreneurs and small, medium and micro-sized enterprises. We will continue collaborating with the Tourism Enterprises Partnership, Tep. Tep was successful in achieving, but also exceeding its performance indicators over the past year. For 2012, Tep supported just over 5 000 jobs created by the SMMEs, which delivered an increased turnover of R785 million. This raised Tep's overall contribution to job creation over the past ten years, to just more than 75 000 jobs and saw a turnover increase of over R6,4 billion. The department will continue to fund Tep to support SMME development in this financial year.
Our department has also developed the Tourism Accelerated Apprenticeship programme. Somebody should be available and be tasked to think up all this long names, which is to provide further education and training to tourism graduates through practical workplace training and exposure through skills development, and to familiarise the graduates with the operational side of the tourism and hospitality sector.
In the 2013-14 financial year, the department has been allocated further funding to roll out the Tourism Accelerated Apprenticeship programme. As a result, the 100 further education and training interns will be recruited and placed at various institutions across the country.
Transformation in our sector is critically important, because tourism is everybody's business. Every South African must derive benefit from the industry, and therefore, concerted efforts are made to promote transformation. Recognising that transformation is vital to ensure the sustainable growth and development of the tourism sector, this House passed the Tourism Bill in 2012. And I would like to convey my appreciation to the committee.
The legislation heralds the role of tourism as a major force for economic transformation in our country. During the previous financial year, we established a Black Economic Empowerment, the BEE, Charter Council to oversee efforts to ensure effective transformation in the sector. Going forward, the BEE Charter Council will closely monitor compliance with relevant legislation, and will drive initiatives to make sure that effective transformation of the sector leads to meaningful growth and equal distribution of the benefits that tourism brings.
In conclusion, as a tourism industry, we remain committed to working together to grow tourism in our country with the support of all South Africans, all of whom have the power of being important tourism ambassadors.
I would like to take a moment to thank our Deputy Minister, for her commitment and support. Thank you also to the director-general, and his capable team for bringing our department this far in a very short period.
Furthermore, the unqualified report of the Auditor-General after the 2011-12 audit, which was the national department's second audit as a stand-alone department, demonstrates administrative success in establishing a sound governance foundation, which will support the implementation of our mandate.
A special thank to the board of South African tourism and the executive team under the leadership of the chief executive officer, for their excellent work and the support rendered to the department to achieve our targets.
In addition, I would like to express our gratitude to the private sector for the constructive relationship we are enjoying. Thank you to all our partners for engaging with us and for your commitment to our shared growth goals.
To the Chairperson and the members of our portfolio committee, we value and appreciate the good working relationship with Parliament. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr L P KHOARAI
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 28
The MINISTER OF TOURISM
Mr L P KHOARAI: Hon Chairperson, Minister of Tourism, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, comrades and friends, the ANC supports the Budget Vote of Tourism. President Jacob Zuma emphasised in his state of the nation address that unemployment, poverty and inequality are the major national challenges in our country.
Many tourism stakeholders expected more focus on tourism, specifically because it can mobilise for the eradication of poverty and job creation. The President in his speech also identified tourism as one of the job drivers in our country. He also focused on the need to promote economic growth based on infrastructural development and acceleration of job creation. Also, he made repeated references to the National Development Plan 2030 in his speech.
The Minister of Tourism said that tourism is a vital component of the economy and a key part of the New Growth Path. Tourism contributed 190 billion indirect and 70 billion direct growth of the Gross Domestic Product, the GDP, of this country. Tourism grew at the rate of an impressive 10,7% between January and September 2012, which is higher than the global average of 4% for last year.
In aligning tourism with the National Development Plan, the NDP, tourism is identified as one of the main important drivers of the economy and job creators, as the President has just alluded to. The National Development Plan targets are to create additional 11 million jobs by 2030, and the department's target is to create 22 500 additional jobs and 499 billion by 2020. The Department of Tourism is up to the task.
The programme of policy knowledge and services is to improve the livelihood of all South Africans and to motivate and the evaluation of the tourism sector's strategies, policies and initiations. The department will also engage with public entities and the private sector through a number of inventions based on the National Tourism Sector Strategy.
The department also targeted the local municipalities as strategic spheres of government in developing the tourism mandate. The Local Government Support programme will be implemented to ensure capacity- building in all municipalities.
The ANC recommended that the department must make sure that the tourism co-ordination structure such as the local government bureaux should be supported to build capacity at local level to promote employment opportunities for the poor in hospitality skills, and to help local communities, in particular small-scale farmers and vendors to become part of the supply chain to enable the poor entrepreneurs to work in tourism businesses. Tourism must also unlock opportunities for economic gain and other livelihood benefits for poor communities, and focus on projects that spread benefit and income to the communities across the country.
Today is the last day for Tourism Indaba in Durban, Kwazulu-Natal. The committee commends the work done by the department, the Minister of putting the people together and the participants in tourism to secure their role in domestic tourism. We wish to see the provinces putting more resources to promote tourism in their provinces.
Minister, we understand that the department is planning to have the mission supported for institutionalising tourism. The Department of International Relations and Co-operation has raised the concern that there is a complaint from international embassies about South Africa having a lot of missions that are sometimes unco-ordinated. The provinces and municipalities would usually visit the same countries with the intention of establishing similar relations. How will the Minister ensure that the document is inclusive of all spheres of government to stop duplications?
In conclusion, we hope that the department will boost their efforts, as there is room for improvement, and continue to forge success for tourism in the country. I thank you. [Applause.]
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mrs N J NGELE): Hon members, those of you who will like to use the podium are free to do so. Thank you.
Mr S B FARROW
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 29
Mr L P KHOARAI
Mr S B FARROW: Chairperson, tourism's role in the growth of our economy and as a job creator has been totally underestimated, judging from the recent figures released by the Statistics SA during April 2013. Minister, we have a lot to brag about; so excuse me for repeating some of this figures again. Figures show that visitors to our country since the staging of the Fifa World Cup have been steadily increasing despite the doomsayers suggesting that it was a once-off event.
It certainly placed us on the world map. The visitors' number has grown steadily to the extent that we doubled the United Nations World Tourism Organisations, the UNWTO, global average tourist growth figures of 4%. In real terms, this means that tourism is slowly becoming a major direct contributor to our Gross Domestic Product which shows a growth of 5% from last year. And due to its intrinsic link to job creation, the industry now employs about 600 000 people.
This is a remarkable achievement considering the world recession which affected many countries of the world during 2011-12. If our figures are correct, and I must say they do need refinement - there is no doubt, and then we are moving into exciting times. However, we cannot take our tourism successes for granted. Although our growth in international tourism is the main driver of job creation, we have to increase domestic tourism in order to sustain these jobs over the long term.
To see a 10,2% increase in international tourism from 8,34 million to 9,2 million, is no mean feat considering also the small budget that the national Department of Tourism has to operate on and the current trends coming out of our nontraditional countries. The DA sees the countries of China, India, South America and our own continent of Africa as our biggest opportunity. And to cope with the potential upsurge, we need "to get our ducks in a row". Some 100 million and 50 million people travelled from China and India respectively during 2011. With that in mind, it is little wonder that visitors to South Africa from the countries below increased so dramatically: China 55,6%, India 18,2%, Brazil by 44,7% and Africa as a whole by 8,5% between 2011 and 2012.
If we want a similar growth pattern in 2013-14 then there is no doubt that the Minister and his department will have to ensure that every cent of this marketing budget is optimised in order to tap into the potential tourist groups. However, international marketing, as you have mentioned Minister, is an expensive business when one considers the devaluation of the rand against major currencies of the world. And this doesn't go far when office premises, staff salaries and all that goes with it are required.
I'm saying this knowing that if South African tourism offices just in Angola cost in the excess of R10 million, then to set up an office in Europe, India or China could be at least double or more. We have over 100 missions and embassies abroad and a similar amount of SA Airways, the SAA, offices. There should be a request made to share these facilities wherever possible until more funds are possible.
The SAA as the national carrier should also play its part in promoting South Africa as a destination. In so doing, it will get the bums in seats that every airline is looking for. A similar arrangement could also be made with the airlines that have shares or alliance agreements with the SAA.
Furthermore Minister, budgets transferred to provinces and local governments need to be thoroughly scrutinised in order to ensure that no duplications and wastage occurs. I have mentioned this concern before and I will mention it again. Monies cannot flow into municipalities that don't have the necessary tourism directorates and that are not properly capacitated or are not seen to be part of the overall provincial package in terms of the offer on hand.
My oversight visits to these municipalities and provinces, particularly in the Eastern Cape, brought this issue to the fore. What I have experienced, and is often in the local media, is the continuous duplication of destination adverts and a large number of poor quality brochures, which do not only lack full and clear information but are also often poorly edited, that are at their tourist centres.
Minister, I would appeal to you and your relevant marketing directorates to involve yourselves in a more hands-on co-ordinating and guiding role in these more problematic areas in order to avoid this waste of scarce resources. In the very same light, neither can you let your department spend scares funds on artworks, cars or expensive furnishing for extravagant, so-called staff pause offices - we know about the inquiry that is taking place.
Our recently held Tourist Showcase the Indaba needs a relooking. It appears as thought it's losing its impact and is a seeing decline in the number of buyers attending every year. The costs for the exhibitors are also becoming exorbitant with the provinces and local government taking up most of the space.
In my constituency, the Buffalo City Metro spent R430 000 on last year's Indaba with no visible benefit to the city. This is according to the local Chamber of Business. Their presence there was done despite them having no effective front of house, a tourism office or a strategy in place. I question how many other municipalities or provinces spent similar amounts with limited return.
Minister, quality assurance is one of your department's goals, and although the Tourism Bill will deal with this matter in a more formal way, there is still an urgent need to put in place the necessary checks and balances until this Act is finally assented to.
Tourists' guides cannot operate illegally and must be both accredited and trained. In the DA-run Western Cape, the Tourist Department is constantly reining in these dodgy tourists guides and other provinces need to follow suit. We cannot let these illegal operators give the industry a bad name.
Also in the Western Cape, Wesgro's strategic focus on increasing tourist numbers to the significant beautiful diversity, and splendour of the Western Cape Province has made massive strides with recent figures revealing a double-digit growth on many of the more famed destinations like Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch and Cape Point Nature Reserve - the latter which showed an increase of 24%. It is no wonder therefore that President Zuma was quoted as saying, "God resides in Cape Town."
Overall though, I must mention that the province saw a decrease in the number of international arrivals through Cape Town International Airport which resulted from the SAA's flights to the United Kingdom, UK-direct flights being cancelled, and the grounding of low-cost airlines, namely 1time and Velvet Sky. To this end, a dedicated engagement with airlines and charter companies is taking place to once more secure direct flights into Cape Town International Airport.
For your department to reach its goals Minister, you must hold the cross-cut Ministries to account. We cannot have a situation like the one which occurred recently in Beijing where embassies ran out of Visa documents; have tourists' facilities closing down because of road access being a problem or not being properly maintained;. afford to have bad media publicity because of the contravention of the law and order; the safety of our tourists being threatened; and have unscrupulous operators charging what they like at our parks, restaurants and for accommodation.
South Africa has a wonderful diversity of people, landscape and wildlife. And with the eight world heritage sites to our credit, it has all the opportunities and potential to make this country a sought after and an affordable destiny of choice. We cannot let all these so-called challenges get in our way. It's in your hands Minister, so let's make it happen.
Finally, to make sure that we become the world's top 20 tourism destination by 2020, we strongly recommend that your department's budget be increased during the Medium-Term Review. Unfortunately I will not be part of that process next year, but I trust that the new portfolio committee in 2014 will make this happen for without the extra funds your task will become more arduous. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mrs J M MALULEKE
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 30
Mr S B FARROW
Mrs J M MALULEKE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, chairperson of the portfolio committee, hon Members of Parliament, stakeholders of the Department of Tourism, ladies and gentlemen, and all protocol observed, these are exciting moments in this country, indeed "there is light at the end of the tunnel". Tourism is finally receiving the attention it lodged for years. As one of the fastest growing sectors in the country, tourism promises more for the people of this country.
Domestic travelers accounted for more than 70% of South Africa's tourism volume. They have injected R20 billion into the economy of this country, which in turn resulted in jobs being creation, and goes a long way in cushioning the country in times of global economic downturns. This is why it is important that we strengthen domestic tourism.
In line with this vision, the department developed a domestic tourism strategy that will work not alone but with the National Tourism Sector Strategy and leverage even more from the domestic market.
Trends in the sector reveal that there is more to be leveraged out of a business traveler as compared to a leisure traveler; this is what the National Conventions Bureau and the department intend to focus on. It will forge forth and try to achieve the set target of increasing the number of domestic business and leisure travelers to 18 million by 2020. This means that we are more aggressive in stressing the need to grow domestic tourism and in addition, attracting more visitors from other countries.
The development of domestic tourism in the country, with an emphasis on rural development, will go a long way in reviving some infrastructural investments that have not been successful. Reinvestments into resorts such as Zithabiseni have proven successful as demand grows.
Furthermore, these initiatives cannot happen overnight. They require extensive research in order to develop and update provincial and regional tourism profiles. And these profiles will provide insight on products, travelers and inform packaging.
South Africa is home to a vast range of tourist attractions that draw millions of people every year to the country. However, there are still many areas that remain undiscovered by tourists and these areas range from the cultural villages in deep rural areas to the heritage places that define the new democracy and the wilderness which is the heart of Africa's attractions.
It is important to note that South Africa is home to eight world heritage sites, and one recently named as one of the seven wonders in the world. All these places are of outstanding value to humanity.
It would be an unfortunate occasion when we, as Members of Parliament, do not give credit where it's due. In many occasions, we have expressed our discontent with the work done to improve domestic tourism numbers in the country and indeed the department has heeded our call.
The department, with the entity, has taken stock of the challenges, analysed them and subsequently came up with solutions. I will give an example to this.
In years past, a campaign called Sho't Left was launched. However it didn't do that well cause it was not inclusive of all South African travelers - yet mostly the young South African. In realising this, a new route was taken and a new initiative called Vaya Mzansi will be launched fully during the tourism month, as the Minister has alluded to.
The campaign showcases products for families, young people, the old, the adventurous and South Africans from most walks of life and reaffirms that indeed all our travel needs are here, through a slogan that says: It is here.
Through discussions with Parliament, the department revamped their programs during the 2011-12 financial year to come up with an even aggressive portfolio with a programme called Domestic Tourism.
This programme intends to develop and nature the potential of South Africans in the domestic market; be it travelers looking for a destination to suit their needs, enthusiastic South
Africans with great plans to expand the offering we have in the country, and be it patriotic businesses in the country looking forward to join the struggle in the fight against the unemployment rate. This programme is envisaged to do such and in the course of its success bring back our national pride through a culture of knowing your country through travel.
Xitsonga:
Ndzi tsundzuka nkarhi lowu ndza ha ri ntsongo, ha ha famba maendzodyondzo. Hi famba maendzo yo ya eka tindhawu to fana na Gold Reef City, Pretoria Zoo, Table Mountain na Botanical Gardens. A swi tsakisa ngopfu hi nkarhi wa kona.
Hi kombela leswaku ku vulavuriwa na lava va mabindzu ya swifambo hi mayelana na mali yo hakela ku teka maendzo lama. Mali ya kona yi va henhla ngopfu. Leswi swi endla leswaku vana lava nga pfumalaka va nga swi koti ku famba tindhawu to fana na va Golf Reef City. Ku fanele ku komberiwa leswaku vana va swikolo va hunguteriwa tihakelo leswaku na swisiwana na swona swi ta kota ku tiva tindhawu ta Afrika-Dzonga; ku landza marito ya leswaku "Know your South Africa."
English:
At the same time, this challenge is "a chicken-and-egg" issue - a demand commands a supply. However, we should be aware that without demand, competitive pricing will remain a dream and without competitive pricing demand will remain a dream. This is why this agenda should be a collective effort, where industry and clients meet halfway. However, it is along those lines that I challenge all present here to join me on this new journey of knowing my country
as I create a trail of a true South African who enjoys the biltong and admires the diamonds in the Northern Cape; as I remember the struggle icons in Soweto and confer with human existence in Maropeng; as I cherish the soil of Mvezo for bestowing a true selfless leader upon us; and as I marvel at the flora and fauna of UKhahlamba, and I would not have done justice if I don't touch base with the big five and indulge in some Mopani worms; the list is endless. So, let us explore because it is all here.
Xitsonga:
Holobye, vanhu va hina va na vuswikoti ngopfu. Va swi kota ku tiendlela vupfhumba emakaya ya vona. Loko u ya eMadibeng, eka Modjadji, ku na ndhawu yin'wana leyi vitaniwaka Lesanteng. Ndhawu leyi yi le hansi ka buloho laha vanhu va tsakaka kona loko ku fika minkarhi wa maholideyi yo ku fana na Novinjara na Siku ra Ndzivalelano.
EMoretele Local Municipality na kona ku na buloho leri vitaniwaka Momopule. Eka ndhawu leyi, vanhu va tiendlela mabindzu ya vona kona. Na kona laha hi minkarhi ya maholideyi ka tala swinene. Vanhu va suka eJoni na Polokwane ku ta xava eka ndhawu leyi.
Leswi hi swin'wana swa swilo leswi hi lavaka leswaku mi swi langutisa ngopfu leswaku swi ta kota ku hlohlotela vanhu ku tiva Afrika-Dzonga ya vona.
English:
With those words, the ANC supports Budget Vote 35. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mrs M A A NJOBE
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 31
Mrs J M MALULEKE
Mrs M A A NJOBE: Hon Chairperson, hon members, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, in the state of the nation address, President Jacob Zuma highlighted the urgent need for the various departments to align their strategies with the National Development Plan, the NDP. The NDP makes proposals for the government to tackle poverty, inequality and unemployment, which are the three main problems facing the country.
The NDP recognises tourism as one of the main drivers of the country's economy with a potential to create jobs. The Industrial Policy Action Plan, Ipap, 2, acknowledges the same potential in particular that the industry has a low barrier of entry for entrepreneurs and other small emerging businesses. A third policy, the National Growth Plan, the NGP, also profiles tourism as one of the six priority sectors for economic growth and employment.
The recognition of the tourism industry's potential by these government policies poses a challenge to the national Department of Tourism which had to respond. Its response is reflected in the adoption of the National Tourism Sector Strategy, the NTSS, in 2010, after extensive consultations with stakeholders in the industry. The NTSS sets indicators, strategies and implementation plans spanning over a period of 10 years from 2010 to 2020. For example, the department's objective is to create 225 000 jobs by 2020, but the NDP targets 11 million jobs by 2030.
Of concern is that, so far, there is no indication as to how and when the department plans to extend and align its targets with those of the NDP, as directed by the President in the state of the nation address. It should be noted that the adoption of the NTSS in 2010 preceded the handing over of the NDP to the President in 2012. Also, once the Tourism Bill, which has recently been passed by the National Assembly last month, is promulgated into an Act, it will be imperative for the department to align the implementation of section 4(2) with the 2030 targets. This section speaks to the setting of objectives, indicators, targets, promotion, transformation of tourism, and so on.
However, let me be quick to acknowledge that much has been achieved by the Department of Tourism since the adoption of the White Paper in 1996 and in particular in the last financial year. The department managed to meet most of its targets without major hindrances and in some cases, actually exceeded them. However, Cope is not convinced that the rate at which jobs are created, the department will achieve its target, set at 22 500 jobs per annum or 225 000 by 2020.
With regard to marketing and branding, South Africa is the best destination to visit. The SA Tourism agency continues to improve the international tourist arrival volume, which grew by 10,7% as against a global average of 4% for the same period. Domestic tourism, including tourists from African countries, also continues to grow. SA Tourism still faces some challenges as it was unable to meet 55% of its targets due to a number of reasons, including the global economic recession. This is also a challenge to SA Tourism and the department to increase efforts to market South Africa to the local communities, and develop a domestic tourism potential.
Thus Cope welcomes the allocation of R369 million to the Domestic Tourism programme. This is the second highest in Programme 2, under domestic programmes. This recognises the still largely untapped potential.
The zoning of the country into two regions for purposes of implementation will also make the planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation of the Domestic Tourism programme a lot easier. It should lead to a more focussed approach and better co-ordination among the three spheres of government, resulting in growth and the development of the sector.
We also welcome the emphasis placed on the implementation plan for the social responsibility programme in particular the Extended Public Works Programme, the EPWP. However, we are concerned that the R319 million transferred from the Department of Trade and Industry to the tourism support programme in October last year will not be used in the current financial year. Six months down the line, one would have expected the department to have put in place a business plan for its implementation.
We see this fund as being crucial in alleviating some of the long-standing difficulties experienced by the small, medium and micro enterprises, the SMMEs. The need to capacitate the emerging tourism businesses, particularly those of the historically disadvantaged groups, cannot be overemphasised.
The improvement in addressing the Auditor-General's concern on irregularities in the implementation of the EPWP in 2010-11 is noted. It is hoped that such irregularities will be a thing of the past, now that the different of government aim to plan and monitor programmes together. The tourism support programme should produce visible and sustainable jobs.
The NTSS adequately addresses the issue of intergovernmental relations. What remains will be the effective implementation. The conference held between the national Department of Tourism and the municipalities is a step in the right direction. It is a fact that tourism sites and tourist attractions reside at the municipal level. Therefore, municipalities which oversee these sites should play an important and visible role.
However, the hurdle remains the budgeting for tourism activities at this level. The SA Local Government Association, Salga, maintains that tourism is not a legislative imperative for local government; hence in the Integrated Development Plans, the IDPs, it comes after the basic needs such as water and electricity. What needs to be done to cross this hurdle?
At the interdepartmental level, much still needs to be done if South Africa is to reach the full potential for tourism.
The state of the nation address notes that lessons learnt in implementing ... [Time expired.] I thank you. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Chairperson, may I rise on a point of order. Can the Whip of the DA ask the member of the DA, who is reading his newspaper that when he turns his pages, he should please do it more discreetly so that we wouldn't notice that he is reading his newspaper. Thank you. [Interjections.]
The TEMPORARY CHAIRPERSON (Mrs N J Ngele): Hon Gumede, I am sorry. It is true; we are not allowed to read newspapers in the House.
Mr D M GUMEDE
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 32
Mrs M A A NJOBE
Mr D M GUMEDE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister van Schalkwyk, hon Deputy Minister Xasa, hon members and distinguished ladies and gentlemen,...[Interjections.]...our President, His Excellency Jacob Zuma, announced recently that tourism in South Africa has achieved a growth of 10,2% in arrivals which is more than twice the global increase of 4%. We thank the Ministry and the national Department of Tourism together with SA Tourism and all leadership in provinces and participating municipalities. What a remarkable performance! This gives us hope that the challenges of inequality, unemployment and poverty can be eradicated effectively, sooner and sustainably.
IsiZulu:
Lokhu kusinikeza ithemba lokuthi izinselelo ezikhona zobubha, ukungalingani nokuswelakala kwemisebenzi sizokwazi ukukwehlisa ngokushesha ngoba umsebenzi wezokuVakasha uqasha bonke abantu labo abangenawo amakhono kanye nalabo abanamakhono.
English:
This cannot be done without passion, hard work and inspirational leadership. This also demonstrates that Cabinet made a wise move in making the Department of Tourism autonomous. The focus is sharper, resources are better aligned and there is time to do more despite a reduction in the budget.
IsiZulu:
Lokho kuyakhombisa ukuthi uhulumeni ngokwenza kwakhe uMnyango wezokuVakasha ukuba uzimele. Kwenze ukuthi ukwazi ukubona ngendlela ecacile indlela eya phambili, ukwazi futhi ukuhlela nezinsiza zokusebenza kangcono ukuze kutholakale imiphumela engcono.
English:
The reorganisation of government has also set the scene for the optimisation of the legacy of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. But for this nation to realise its full potential, a politically integrated approach between government departments on the one hand, the different spheres of government and the private sector on the other, has to be encouraged and supported.
IsiZulu:
UMnyango wezokuVakasha awukwazi ukuzimela wodwa udinga eminye iMinyango njengoMnyango wezokuThutha, uMnyango wezokuPhepha kanye nohulumeni basemakhaya. Ngakho-ke kufanele ukuthi ngendlela esibambisana ngayo sikwazi ukubambisana kuyo yonke le mikhakha kahulumeni.
English:
That will be in line with the inclusive way of doing things as stated in the National Development Plan, the NDP. The seeds of the NDP are beginning to grow.
At the core of our economic growth is the need for an increase in jobs, sustainable livelihoods and equitable growth, with tourism being identified as one of the primary drivers in addressing the issues.
According to the NDP, for our country to succeed, it has to have a capable state that can meet its goals, because it is adequately resourced and minimises preventable occurances like theft, fraud and mismanagement. How does the Department of Tourism then feature in this? The Department of Tourism has taken action on a certain number of fraud and of corruption cases. Some are being investigated and others are in court; all for the sake of good governance so as to realise a capable state.
Like the NDP, the National Tourism Sector Strategy, the NTSS, is inclusive of diverse stakeholders in the tourism sector and is already yielding results. Tourism as a sector should definitely try harder to increase its NDP share optimally.
Looking at governance, internal control is very important. The resources and structures for internal control are there and are capably resourced with competent people.
The internal audit meets as required by the Public Finance Management Act, the PFMA, and it is as active as is expected by the PFMA. It seems that management is doing its work well. This sets a good foundation in the requirement for building a capable state that I've alluded to before as envisaged in our blueprint - the National Development Plan
On the issues of transformation, there is compliance with the requirements of equity in the department and in all areas except for ownership of products that are dependent on a politically integrated approach. The mandate of the national Department of Tourism is to facilitate tourism and to act as a catalyst.
There is no budget to build the structures and assist in other fundings. There were funds available in the Department of Trade Industry but have not yet been transferred. The ownership of products is dependent on the politically integrated approach, a bigger budget and the three spheres of government working together in an industry where 80% of tourism infrastructure is privately owned.
With regard to international tourism, as the number of emerging countries constitutes more arrivals in South Africa, we should position ourselves to accept tourists from different countries like China, Brazil, and India and be in a position to serve them.
One of the problems that emerged is that after having let direct flights to come from China into South Africa, we still don't have banks that exchange the yuan for the rand. As we develop, we still have teething problems. We are moving forward as a nation.
There are other areas of tourism that need further research like heritage, cultural tourism and synergies. The Marula Festival and the Mganu Festival are essentially about benefits from the same fruit but operate under different names in different provinces. The two festivals should be consolidated, and we have to take advantage of their existence and then try to derive some synergies from them.
The department is further focussing on domestic tourism and this will be dealt with by one of the speakers.
SA Tourism does a lot in promoting South Africa ... [Time expired.] Thank you. [ Applause.]
Mrs C N Z ZIKALALA
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 33
Mr D M GUMEDE
Mrs C N Z ZIKALALA: Hon Chairperson, South African tourism is a critical component in the development of our economy because it is a gateway that can allow foreign spending and investment into the country. With a 10,3% contribution to the total employment in South Africa in 2012, it is clear that marketing our country well can result in the issue of poverty and unemployment being dealt a serious blow.
Our most valuable tourists however, should always be our own people. This will not only develop a sense of pride in seeing the beauty of our country, but also to allow local businesses to flourish without being dependent on international travel trends. Globally, people are cutting down on tourist travel because they cannot afford to travel too much due to the state of the world's economy and the rise in fuel prices. Therefore, our most important tourists should be our own people.
The Department of Tourism must be commended in its drive to promote South Africa internationally, with events such as the Tourism Indaba 2013 - the largest tourism marketing event in Africa - which was held in Durban and ends today. This is a great example of how government can work well with local and international stakeholders to promote our country as an ideal tourist destination.
Despite the problems that we are experiencing with poachers attacking our rhinos and, to some extent, our elephants, it is important to note that our laws are beginning to take these issues in a serious light. An example is the sentencing of a Thai national to 40 years imprisonment for his involvement in rhino poaching; yet more needs to be done. If we allow incidents of poaching to get out of control, we risk losing one of our valuable Big Five animals which have always been a trademark message to the world.
Ensuring the safety of tourists is also a crucial element that the department must not ignore as there are reports of tourists being attacked on landmarks such as the Table Mountain. Any and all safety precautions must be in place to ensure that tourists have a safe and enjoyable experience when visiting our country.
Despite these incidents of poaching and negative media reports broadcast throughout the world, international tourist markets are opening themselves up to our country, especially in Asia. And the department should always be on the lookout for other viable markets that South Africa can be promoted in. A great example is the success of the "What's Your Big Five?" campaign which was broadcast in the United States, a core tourist market for South Africa.
The Internet is proving to be a crucial element in promoting our country, with 90% of holiday travel decisions being made online. In order to compete with the many destinations around the world, the department needs to take relevant steps to ensure that it partners with the local and international stakeholders in order to have an excellent online presence.
Bloggers are some of the most underestimated writers on line. And it is great to see that the department has joined forces with local tourism vendors to create the "Meet South Africa" campaign using Twitter. Fifteen international travel bloggers came and travelled across our country exploring its beauty and posting their experiences online. This exercise has garnered a lot of attention for South Africa internationally and has culminated at the Tourism Indaba in Durban. Even though these bloggers had left our shores, the idea should be promoted amongst our people, which will be a great way for South Africans to promote their own provinces internationally. It will need a collective involvement and all to play our part in helping to boost the economic development of our country, and to make South Africa the best tourist destination there is, despite reports of crime and instability that are splashed across media platforms internationally.
In conclusion ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr I M OLLIS: Chairperson, on a point of order: I noticed that the hon Hanekom has left the room. I'm just wondering if he has gone to buy a paper.
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mrs N J Ngele): Which member?
Mr I M OLLIS: The hon Minister Hanekom. Continue the hon Makasi.
Mrs X C MAKASI
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 34
Mrs C N Z ZIKALALA
Mrs X C MAKASI: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, the Director-General of the Department of Tourism and the entourage, Members of Parliament, one of the immediate priorities of the ANC-led government when it came to power in 1994, was to redress the imbalances of the past and in particular, to improve the livelihood of the poor.
There is a dire need for a drive towards increasing economic participation by the historically marginalised, with the tourism sector having much to gain from transforming itself and the benefits of this transformation. Then, certainly, one of the objectives of the Budget Vote is to do more to develop tourism in rural areas as a way of dispersing the benefits of tourism and increasing its antipoverty impact.
If more tourism can be developed in rural areas, particularly in ways that involve high local participation by women in decisions and enterprises, especially in small-scale operations and culturally- based or farm-based products, antipoverty impacts will be enhanced. In this regard, I cannot fail to mention Ms Judy Stuart who was nominated for the 2012 Woman of the Year for a seven year-old Future Farmer Project which provides a platform for young people in agriculture and farming to become successful commercial farm managers or farmers in their own right.
Dairy farming has traditionally not been an attractive industry for rural and impoverished communities. But, with this apprenticeship project, Ms Stuart has made inroads into the communities by mentoring young people for a future in the dairy farming industry.
South Africa's top tourism destinations including national parks, wilderness areas, mountains, lakes, and cultural sites are generally located in rural areas. Thus, tourism is already an important feature of the rural economy in these specific sites. The aim of promoting tourism is to increase the net benefits to the rural people and increase their participation in managing the tourism products.
A number of key tourist attractions such as the Mapungubwe National Park located in rural areas are not receiving the benefits stemming from the tourism industry, and the limited involvement of local communities is a major constraint in developing tourism in rural areas. There are establishments that are white elephants because communities were never trained and mentored on how to maintain their establishments. Minister, what mechanisms have you put in place to ensure that communities are provided with the necessary support to sustain their businesses?
2012 Rural Tourism Strategy aims to address the following objectives: To create a platform for the sharing of knowledge of best practices, development opportunities and challenges in rural areas for tourism development; to facilitate the co-ordination of rural tourism development initiatives amongst relevant stakeholders; to create an enabling environment for rural tourism development to stimulate job creation; to identify and recommend strategic areas for tourism development in rural areas within the sector; and to guide strategy development within key documentation generated for tourism development and management in South Africa.
The hon Minister has also identified the inadequate resourcing and funding of tourism in rural areas as one of the problem areas hampering rural tourism development. Although Budget Vote 35 makes provision for domestic tourism to the tune of R369,8 million for the present fiscal year, no specific amount is earmarked for the purpose of rural tourism.
It is known that the Department of Tourism's poverty relief projects promote the development of community-owned tourism products and infrastructure development, capacity-building and training, the establishment of small, medium and micro enterprises, the SMMEs, and business development projects. However, one would still like to see that rural tourism has appropriated specific amounts and performance indicators on an annual basis.
Rural tourism is primarily aimed at tourists who are encouraged to explore the route and its offerings in their own vehicles. Most secondary rural roads to these destinations are gravel roads which, when well maintained, add to the whole experience of travelling to a rural area. However, if gravel roads are not maintained, they become a liability to tourism as potential visitors are diverted away from the area by the state of the roads, especially in deep rural areas.
With the introduction of the outcomes-based approach, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform revised its 2010-13 Strategic Plan to take into account the need to create vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities. The outcome is linked to, amongst others, improved rural services to support sustainable livelihoods; rural job creation linked to skills training and promoting economic livelihoods; and an enabling institutional environment for sustainable and improved growth.
The ANC-led government recognises the vital role of the tourism sector's potential to bring about economic growth and employment creation. It is, therefore, encouraging that the hon Minister of Tourism recently said that community beneficiation is at the heart of the National Rural Tourism Strategy. He also said that an emphasis of the strategy is the understanding that the development of rural tourism can make a powerful contribution to poverty alleviation in areas that are often characterised by poverty and underdevelopment.
The strategy is an endorsement of the Department of Tourism's commitment to the development of rural communities in general, and to rural tourism in particular. The ANC supports Budget Vote No 35. I thank you. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TOURISM
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 35
Mrs X C MAKASI
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TOURISM: Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers, hon members, our guests and the national Department of Tourism, as we move towards 20 years of democracy, from three million arrivals in 1994 to 3,5 million to date, the Minister has highlighted that we are presenting our Budget Vote against a backdrop of a favourable tourism growth of 10,2% in 2012.
Such development is a clear indication that this administration made the right decision in identifying tourism as one of the top six priority areas in the New Growth Path, strictly focussing on the promotion of economic development and job creation in South Africa.
South Africa as a global player and a leader in Africa is strategically positioned to play a meaningful role. Thanks to the leadership of President Jacob Zuma, who took time to demonstrate the important role that played by tourism by announcing the 2012 statistics himself. The implications demonstrate, amongst others, the importance of the role that government is playing to enable the private sector to have the necessary environment to invest in the economy. To date, we contribute approximately 9% to the Gross Domestic Product, the GDP. According to the 2010-11 statistics we have created more than half a million jobs to complement the not so often predictable traditional sectors of mining, locomotives and manufacturing. [Interjections.]
We continue to yield very positive results, which can be attributed to the wonderful partnership that we have with the privates sector. Our National Tourism Sector Strategy, the NTSS, which is at the implementation stage, is a product of extensive consultation. Today, we call upon all partners and role-players to play their part to realise our target of contributing R499 billion to the GDP, and to create the much-needed target of 225 000 jobs by 2020.
We now have the National Development Plan, which also recognises tourism as one of the main drivers of the country's economy and employment. The plan envisages the promotion of South Africa as the major tourism destination with the ability to contribute towards sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. We as the national Department of Tourism, in working together with the private sector, have to revise our figures and timelines in order to meet the set target of 11 million jobs by 2030.
In working together with the private sector, it is our main objective to ensure that we continue to develop a sustainable tourism industry. Our priorities as a department remain the same, and our strategic plan for 2013/2014 is in line with our vision to ensure continuity and the attainment of our objectives, as set out in the NTSS.
Our firm focus on those priorities is to ensure the improvement of the quality and competitiveness of our destination through the provision of appropriate skills for the sector. We believe that one of the most important competitive factors in the tourism sector is the availability of a skilled and capacitated workforce with passion for service excellence.
The National Tourism Careers Expo, the NTCE, that we host annually, and the Service Excellence campaign are two of the interventions that the national Department of Tourism, in partnership with the industry and the Culture, Art, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Education and Training Authority, Cathsseta, is driving. In 2012 alone, the NTCE's overall learner participation, which only included preregistered learners, was approximately 7 306. There were recordings of an additional 503 day passes, 247 were educators and, additional to these numbers were students from higher educational institutions and unemployed tourism graduates. Preparations for 2013 are underway with the department contributing approximately R3 million. It will be hosted in the Eastern Cape, in partnership with the Eastern Cape province.
Forward thinking is paramount in order to sustain our competitive edge. Tourism resources alone for a successful tourism industry are not enough, as I also heard hon members indicating earlier. However, it serves as a crucial factor for development in the tourism industry. It also hinges inextricably on the quality of the training and education given to the people who are responsible for the delivery of these services. As tourism is a people-intensive industry, education and training should be placed in the forefront of tourism development.
Investment in the youth will result in a much more sustainable and flexible workforce. We will therefore continue working with the private sector, exposing our youth to numerous opportunities within the sector. Furthermore, we urge more industry players to open their doors for opportunities for our young people to gain experience and exposure essential for future employment. We also urge the industry to provide accredited training within their institutions. We also look forward to initiatives by established industry players to coach, mentor, train and partner with our small, medium and micro enterprises, the SMMEs, in order to transfer skills and assist them in getting into the market.
The incentive programme transferred from the Department of Trade and Industry, the DTI, to the national Department of Tourism must cater for the support for such initiatives that would in the long run tackle our transformation agenda that will see our SMMEs grow, as well as encourage participation in the mainstream economy. This year, our department is setting up its institutional mechanism that will shape what our department seeks to achieve from this programme.
Furthermore, the announcement by the Minister at the indaba in the last two days on the consolidation of our tourism awards is a step in the right direction. And we look forward to the support that will be given to the winners in order to sustain them, to see them grow and to link them with funding institutions. It's still inexplicable that one of our Emerging Tourism Entrepreneurs Awards, Eteya, winners, who applied to the Industrial Development Corporation, the IDC, could not be accepted because of the criteria that are still not favourable to them.
The national Department of Tourism, Umalusi and Cathsseta entered into a partnership to conduct an analysis and evaluation of the existing curriculum for tourism, hospitality and consumer studies subjects in the National Qualifications Framework, the NQF, levels 2, 3 and 4 of the National Certificate Vocational offered at further education and training, the FET, colleges and the National Senior Certificate, the NSC, offered at high schools.
The main purpose of this exercise was to establish the value and quality standing of the intended curriculum for these subjects in the overall education and training terrain, and to determine whether the existing curriculum is in line with the industry skills needs.
Multistakeholder working groups of experts worked on the workshop-based research process and came up with their first final tourism and hospitality report, which was launched in March this year. The articulation of this content needs to be attended to, hence the second phase of this final report will focus on the NSC report by the end of 2013-14.
The alignment of our tourism strategies and activities as government is long overdue, as was indicated by speakers before me. It gives me great pleasure to inform this House that our department has launched a tourism capacity programme at the local government tourism conference that we hosted in February this year, which will ensure that tourism policies filter to all government levels seamlessly. We expect to see tourism as one of the key growth pillars for local municipalities.
We also went a step further in our efforts to strengthen public-sector capacity in the tourism sector. And in our quest to facilitate improved service delivery we worked closely with National Treasury and provincial departments to develop an improved budget structure for tourism, and to ensure more appropriate budget allocations across all levels of government.
In this financial year, we will continue to expand the number and range of knowledge-information tools available on the Tourism Knowledge Portal. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Ms R M M LESOMA
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 36
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TOURISM
Ms R M M LESOMA: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, our invited guests, the 2013 January 8th statement mentions that the goals of economic transformation, growth and development require decisive action to thoroughly and urgently transform the economic patterns of the present situation in order to realise South Africa's vision for the future. I must say that ...
IsiZulu:
... isitatimende sikaKhongolose sangoMasingana 8 yiso esilawula ukuthi kulo nyaka oNgqongqoshe baseNingizimu Afrika abathunywe ngabantu ukuba bahole leli zwe kuyini okufanele bagxile kukho. Njengoba nezikhulumi ezikhulumile ngaphambili ezihlezi ngapha ngasesandleni sami sokunxele zivumelana nathi, lokho kusho ukuthi sibambe ngakho. Masibonge.
English:
To eliminate poverty, ensure a sustainable increase in employment and reduce inequality, the economy must grow faster and in ways that benefit all South Africans - the rural, urban and townships. The ANC-led government endorsed policy frameworks and programmes to drive the initiative forward which include the National Development Plan, the NDP, and the National Growth Path, the NGP, that identify tourism as one of the job drivers. I would like to express our revolutionary appreciation for the work well done, once again, by the hon Minister and Deputy Minister, supported by a capable administration and the ANC together with our fellow South Africans.
The growth trend indicates that there were more tourists from outside the African continent as the previous speakers had alluded to. Europe remains the highest source of overseas tourists to South Africa. The strongest growth was recorded from Asia with up to 33,7%, driven by the growth from China and India. Central America and South America recorded 37,0% with most of the growth coming from Brazil. We all agree on the percentages because they are scientific statistics.
When our hon President, his Excellency Jacob Zuma released the tourism statistics for 2012 on 25 April 2013, he said, and I quote:
The Brics summit held in Durban last month highlighted the economic potential that our affiliation with this bloc has for South Africa and the tourism industry is no exception. Tourist arrivals from the Brics countries accounted for 330 834 of our international tourist numbers in 2012 and the potential for further growth is huge. Greater collaboration at all levels will no doubt go a long way in making South Africa a more accessible destination for visitors from these markets and ensuring that these countries continue to fuel our industry's success going forward.
Regional Africa remains the pillar of our tourism economy and we are happy to see that arrivals from the region have maintained the solid growth path we have become accustomed to. Africa's importance to our tourism industry will continue to grow, as African economies are amongst the best performing economies in the world at the moment.
This clearly indicates that regional tourism growth is really important and must be facilitated. We therefore need to understand the context within which regional tourism is taking place. The tourism industry experts indicate that modern tourists are more environmentally conscious and discerning on the type of tourism packages they purchase.
There is also heightened awareness about carbon footprint from aviation, with tourism being the main reason for travelling. It is therefore envisaged that growth will come from source countries within a four-hour flight radius. South Africa is a long haul destination and most international tourists who visit the country come from outside the four-hour flight radius. It is therefore incumbent upon the national Department of Tourism - which has already started to respond to this - and the SA Tourism to attract more visitors from the African continent as most of these are within the four-hour radius. And we are happy to say that they are already doing that as I alluded to earlier on. As a government we appreciate this.
The growth trajectory in international tourism has compelled the national Department of Tourism to establish a branch that deals specifically with international tourism management. Previous speakers have already alluded to this. There would also be 126 missions supported, which will include the business planning model for institutionalising tourism as our hon Deputy Minister also speaks to this point. It has been reported that the department will also be looking at developing some policy positions to enhance tourism competitiveness. Consultation with other sector departments such as the Department of Home Affairs will more importantly explore possibilities of e-visas and other strategic destination competitiveness measures.
A concern has however been raised about the number of co-ordination missions that different sectors have with foreign countries. It is therefore imperative for the national Department of Tourism to work closely with other sector departments such as the Department of International Relations and Cooperation co-ordinate all these missions that we have signed.
In strengthening regional Africa and international collaboration and partnership, there will be a number of bilateral and multilateral engagements with targeted countries. These bilateral and multilateral engagements will be conducted to negotiate and facilitate the implementation of international agreements related to tourism and facilitate participation in multilateral flora. These will include, amongst others, participation in the World Tourism Organisation structures and the World Travel and Tourism Council.
However, I must say that caution must also be exercised with bilateral and multilateral agreements to ensure proper follow-ups on the implementation of the signed agreements that should be aligned to the agreed signed papers.
It will be wrong for us not to acknowledge and say in this House that local government, as other speakers have said, is one of the beneficiaries of tourism through regional and international conferences or events. It will encourage municipalities to include tourism as key in their integrated development plans, spatial planning and budgets as hon Khoarai has indicated. If at local government we do not plan and budget accordingly, we will not be able to respond positively in tourism as we expect.
Let me also say that in the 2013 Tourism Indaba which closes today, Mama Lolo's Guest House in Soweto largely attracted international visitors. This bears a testimony that township hospitality industry does have a room in changing the tourism landscape of our country.
IsiZulu:
Ngalokhu engikushoyo lana, abavakashi abaphuma kwamanye amazwe abafisi ukuthi uma befika la, besuka eYurophu noma kwelaseNdiya bafike babone elinye izwe laseNdiya noma laseYurophu. Yingakho ngifisa ukusho ukuthi kubalulekile ukuthi sibambisane nabaholi bendabuko, bezenkolo nezendabuko zalapha eNingizimu Afrika ukuze sibalekelele ukuqinisekisa ukuthi izindawo zabo zihlala zigcinekile futhi ziseqophelweni eliphezulu ukuze abavakashi bakwazi ukuza kuzona nathi siziqhenye ngazo.
English:
The next question is: How do we focus these energies towards – as Mrs Makasi has said - rural urban tourism nodes, small African food outlets, the expanded public works programmes, the EPWPs, South Africa as a preferred honeymoon destination and the internationally preferred place for production sites in the filming industry.
Some of the Metros have twinned with international cities which also seek to boost international tourism in general in our country. In line with rural development, traditional leaders ...
IsiZulu:
... sengikushilo lokho singadlula kukho. Omunye umbuzo okumele sizibuze wona ukuthi yini le ehlukile okumele siyenze ukuqinisekisa ukuthi izindawo ezingamagugu esizwe sonkana zihlala ziseqopheleni elamukelekile nesingaziqhenya ngalo, ukuze sikwazi ukuhehela izivakashi eNingizimu Afrika? Yilapho-ke siwuKhongolose sithi, sisonke singenza okungcono ekuthuthukiseni imiphakathi yethu senze umehluko ezimpilweni zemiphakathi yethu.
English:
The growth of international tourism is positive and all of us in the country need to show a united front when we try to attract new international markets. Our media must also tell positive stories about South Africa and not only bombard the world with negative information. By no means am I saying they should not report that, but they must also remember that positive reporting will assist us in appreciating, growing and protecting South Africa as a brand. [Time expired.] Thank you, hon Chairperson. The ANC supports the Vote. [Applause.]
Mrs V BAM-MUGWANYA
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 37
Ms R M M LESOMA
Mrs V BAM-MUGWANYA: Hon Chair, Hon Minister Van Schalwyk, hon Deputy Minister Thoko Xhasa, the Department of Tourism in all its splendour, hon members, traditional leaders here present, esteemed ladies and gentlemen, ...
IsiXhosa:
... lilizelani i-ANC iyayixhasa iVoti yoHlahlo-lwabiwo-mali yama-35, ngoba... [Ullulation.][Applause.]
English:
... the New Growth Path, the NGP, has prioritised tourism as one of the six economic sectors with the potential to create new jobs. The national tourism blueprint sets both targets for tourism growth with the target of 225 000 new jobs to be created and the contribution of R499 billion to the Gross Domestic Product, the GDP, by 2020, as stated by the Deputy Minister as well. These targets have since been aligned with the National Development Plan, the NDP.
Though a fairly new department, the national Department of Tourism has made phenomenal development strides both to itself and to the tourism industry as a whole in the following areas: tourism drove a double-digit growth in international arrivals; made tourism tangible to South Africans; championed new products; has real authentic success stories; has demonstrated that tourism is everybody's business; creates jobs; develops skills and offers other opportunities. Tourism is positioned as mainstream business and poise to usher in transformation. How does tourism do this?
As one of the key economic drivers to help reduce unemployment and poverty reduction, the tourism sector provides opportunities for investment in infrastructure, skills development, jobs and ownership. Being instrumental in creating the much-needed jobs and developing skills for young South Africans, the tourism sector contributed 8,7% to South Africa's GDP in 2009.
It has been recognised that there is a shortage of small and micro enterprises in the industry to boost the process of job creation. The industry is however challenged by lack of funding for emerging tourism enthusiasts by the development finance institutions and commercial banks, because of reasons varying between the seasonality of the industry; the inability of the small, medium and micro enterprises, the SMMEs, to provide collateral and enterprises in rural arenas.
IsiXhosa:
Kule ngxaki yokungabikho kovimba wemali, baye bakho noko abathe baqina ifokotho, bazijula ijacu bengena kushishino lokhenketho. Ndakuthi gqaba-gqaba ngabambalwa abathe bangamatshantliziyo. Kukho uDan Pasiya weshishini likaDan's Country Lodge and Events eMthatha, eMpuma Koloni. Kukho umama uMushwana waseKaribu Leisure Resort and Conference Centre eTzaneen. Lo mama ungungqa-phambili, imazi ebotshwa neenkabi kuba ube ngumama wokuqala ukungena kweli shishini linje. Kubekhona iJozini Tiger Lodge, emaphandleni KwaZulu-Natal; uNovaysi Tourist Transport okwangumama olitshantliziyo othe wenza eli shishini lokhenketho lezothutho. Isekhona eminye imingeni nangona kukho le mitsi ikhankanywe ngentla apha.
English:
Tourism is one of the key economic drivers to help reduce unemployment and poverty. The tourism sector provides opportunities for investment in infrastructure, skills development, jobs and ownership being instrumental in creating the needed jobs and developing skills for young South Africans. Despite these challenges, there are a number of successful emerging tourism enterprises that are doing well, like I have said.
Tour guiding has become a lucrative tourism business. In line with the Tourism Bill that has been tabled, the national Department of Tourism will continue to make improvements to the regulatory environment for tourist guiding that will greatly assist in professionalising this important link in the tourism value chain. Renewed emphasis was placed on the efforts to professionalise the tour guiding industry.
In making tourism tangible, the national Department of Tourism helped to strengthen the intergovernmental relation, the IGR, which responded to the provincial and local needs using the National Tourism Sector Strategy, the NTSS, as well as the NGP. Among other support systems, this strategy affords the provinces the niche tourism market development service, excellence, awareness and training.
IsiXhosa:
Kubekho inkqubo eyiTourism Enterprise Partnership, ebizwa uTep, kunyaka-mali wama-2012-13. UTep uphumise izandla ubunkcuba-buchopho bophuhliso loosomashishini abasakhasaya ngokuhlanganisa uphando-nkqubo nophuhliso lobuchwephesha kunye noqhagamshelwano namaziko eentengiso.
English:
That is, in combining product and skills development with market access.
IsiXhosa:
Le nkquleqhu, ibe neziqhamo ezihle kuba umgangatho woshishino uye wonyuka, ingakumbi kwezokhenketho. Isixa-mali samashishini asakhasayo kwezokhenketho ancedisiweyo sinyuke ngezigidi ezingama-R785.
English:
These assisted small tourism businesses to increase their revenue by R785 million, in doing so, thus actively supporting the creation of jobs and the maintenance of existing jobs. Emerging tourism enterprises indicate a great appreciation for the support given by the Tep, including the facilitation of their attendance at the prestigious African Travel and Tourism Trade Show.
Tourism further increased the participation of Black Enterprises in the economy by focussing on enterprise development and market access by predominantly Black-owned businesses. It should however be our objective to ensure that the benefits of tourism are equitably shared amongst the people of South Africa with initiatives planned for the empowerment of youth, women and people with disabilities through enterprises, entrepreneurships and people development for true transformation. Another effort by the national Department of Tourism is that, South Africans in the low-income levels can travel their own country like those who can afford by introducing a pilot project for holiday budget resort. This is to be done in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation, the IDC.
The Minister of Tourism said at the 2013 Indaba in Durban, "The time has come to remove the final barriers to fully unlock our country's tourism measures and the intrinsic value of travelling for all South Africans, thereby bolstering our contribution to job creation and poverty alleviation."
The challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality, require that accelerated growth takes place in the context of an effective strategy of economic distribution that builds a new and more equitable growth plan.
Over the last 19 years, significant progress has been made in meeting the basic needs of our people, including through the growth of a social wage and the provision of social infrastructure.
However, the distribution of economic assets and ownership, democratisation of economic power, empowerment of black people, women and workers, and the growth of job-creating industries have not met the expectations we had 19 years ago.
IsiXhosa:
Masize koyena ndoqo esithenjiswe ngaye lisebe ... [Liphelile Ixhesha.] Njengokuba senditshilo, i-ANC iyayixhasa iVoti yoHlahlo-lwabiwo-mali yama-35. [Kwaqgwatshwa.]
Mr M R SAYEDALI SHAH
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 38
Mrs V BAM-MUGWANYA
Mr M R SAYEDALI SHAH: Chairperson, hon Minister and hon members, a labour force survey recently released by Statistics SA indicates that South Africa's unemployment rate has increased from 24,9% in the previous year to 25,2% in the first quarter of this year. One may argue that if the number of people who have given up looking for jobs was taken into account, the actual figure may easily be in the region of between 36% to perhaps over 40%.
The fact is that one in every two young South Africans is unemployed. This is indeed a recipe for disaster. Analysts warn that failure to deliver more inclusive growth and failure to generate economic growth at the level required to create sustainable jobs, which the DA estimates should be at least 8%, could see South Africa facing a serious threat to its social stability. Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, has predicted that South Africa's economic growth will only manage to reach 2,8% this year from 2,5% in 2012 and rise to a meagre 3,3% in the following year. If this poor trend continues to persist, it is highly unlikely that the country will meet the targets for creating jobs. Now, clearly, this situation is not good enough to meet the challenges of unemployment and poverty alleviation in the country.
Chairperson, it is within this context that the contribution of the tourism sector to the economy of South Africa must be appreciated, and that we must locate the potential of the tourism sector to be the engine for job creation. It has the capacity to create various types of employment on a large-scale from the most specialised to the unskilled. Therefore and rightfully so, tourism is considered to be the key sector with the potential of growing the economy and creating jobs.
The National Development Plan targets are to create 11 million additional jobs by 2030 and to increase the gross domestic product, the GDP, by an annual 5,5% over the period. The National Tourism Sector Strategy, the NTSS, targets for 2020 are for the creation of 225 000 additional jobs, and a total direct contribution of R499 billion to the GDP by 2020.
However, we have some concerns in this regard and they are as follows: Firstly, whether the national Department of Tourism will be reviewing or extending some of the indicator targets to 2030 to coincide or align with the National Development Plan, the NDP, timeframe; secondly, whether the full-time equivalent jobs created through the Expanded Public Works Programme, the EPWP, will be counted towards the 225 000 additional jobs to be created by 2020 as many of these are project-based and others temporary; and thirdly, that the current growth rate stands at 1,5%. If this pace remains the same - whether the NDP target of R499 billion by 2020 will not fall short by R150 billion - what are we going to do to mitigate those things? There are also some other questions that we must ask.
Given the current contribution that tourism is making toward the GDP, has the department estimated the desired growth rate which is necessary to meet the 2020 targets? Given the current performance of the department, is it confident that it will actually meet those 2020 targets? Given the fact that most of the potential investment money is sitting in the private sector and not in the public sector, and that most of the employment in the tourism sector comes from the private sector, what is the Minister going to do increasingly to engage with the private sector with the view to ensuring continuous infrastructure investments in the tourism sector?
He should perhaps consider offering them some form of incentives for employing young people like the youth wage subsidy which the DA-led government in the Western Cape is implementing successfully. Given the fact that most of the tourism budget resides in the big cities, how does the NDT or the department effectively monitor these funds and evaluate their transfers?
Now that we have positioned tourism to be a major engine for economic growth and remained determined to harness its direct and multiplier effects for employment and poverty eradication, and as we pursue our objective of capturing a fair share of over one billion annual tourist arrivals from the global tourism market, let us ensure that we do so with a degree of responsibility and in an environmentally sustainable manner. Sustainability should and must serve as a guiding principle for the implementation of our tourism policy.
Our development and management strategies should be implemented in a manner which ensures that tourism largely acts as a smokeless industry and that its ecological footprints remain as soft as possible. No one engaged directly or indirectly in the tourism industry should be allowed to secure short-term gains by resorting to what has been termed "the darker side of tourism".
South Africa has some of the greatest variety of fauna and flora in the world that has perhaps not been exploited for its tourism potential. South Africa is also rich in terms of biodiversity and is therefore a perfect candidate for ecotourism. Therefore, more emphasis ought to be placed on ecotourism as a tourism product, whose parameters should be broader than those of nature tourism alone.
Tourism operators need to be encouraged to promote ecotourism, through awareness campaigns education and training of the local community as guides, which could also be turned into a grassroots community-based movement. South Africa has a unique cultural heritage and a vast array of natural heritage. We are home to some of the world's most recognisable heritage sites.
The deep-rooted relationship of tourism and cultural assets should be fully recognised and provided for. Therefore, special attention should be given to rural tourism and tourism in small settlements where sizeable assets of our cultural and natural wealth exist. We also need to actively promote the development of village tourism as an important tourism product in order to spread tourism and its socioeconomic benefits to people in rural areas.
South Africa must also leverage its strength as one of the world's ancient civilisations. We are, after all, home to the Cradle of Humankind and in the context of our rich and diverse natural heritage, must seek to increase our share of the huge international travel market, especially the long-haul segment of this market. We must also leverage our strength as one of Africa's largest economies for business, trade, meetings, conventions, sports and other events as well as exhibition tourism.
The slowdown in the global economy, especially in some of our targeted countries, has a negative impact on international arrivals. Therefore, the NDT must place a sustained focus and make considerable investment in domestic tourism. In most countries, domestic tourism is the foundation of a viable and sustainable tourism industry. Furthermore, it should be so designed that the infrastructure created to support it, serves as a backbone for international tourism in times to come when the global economy recovers.
South Africa also has some of the greatest adventure tourism assets in the world in the form of mountains, rivers, lakes and waterfalls too. All of these must be developed and promoted. I must say that while on a plane recently, a colleague from the ANC informed me about a waterfall that is approximately 20 odd kilometres inland from Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape. I can't quite recall the name, I think it's Kwabe and has a great potential to be a major draw card, if it were to be developed and marketed appropriately.
A new breed of young tourists with a marked preference for adventure and distant destinations in hills, caves and forests is emerging. A young adventure-seeking tourist might not be looking for a four or five-star accommodation, but only for a simple, clean and affordable place to stay, and the question is: Are we meeting the requirements of this class of tourists and others like the backpackers?
The department must also promote the development of sustainable resort facilities for beach and coastal tourism. There is a need to identify a series of government or even private sites for this purpose. There is a great potential for this, especially in the Eastern Cape. Not too long ago, along with the committee, we visited Port St Johns, a coastal town, as part of the oversight responsibility. We discovered there many awesome locations in and around Port St Johns with tremendous potential for tourism development. However, I was saddened by the neglect of such a beautiful town with so much potential.
South Africa's physical infrastructure is the very foundation on which tourism is to be built, and this ranges from ports of entry to all modes of transport - roads and railway to urban infrastructure - that are supporting tourism facilities such as access roads, power and electricity, water supply, sewage, sanitation and telecommunications, amongst others. Therefore, investment in the development and proper maintenance of South Africa's infrastructure is crucial; especially the road network which is particularly vital to tourism, for most of the passenger traffic is by road, indeed.
Furthermore, many of the tourist circuits too are entirely dependent on roads. There is also an urgent need to construct new roads and improve on existing roads, especially rural roads linking our heritage sites and other places of tourism interest. I can give an example of the R74 route in the Free State and the R66 route which is in KwaZulu-Natal – in my own constituency – which have been progressively deteriorating since a long time. And this has lead to the closure of some businesses like the bed and breakfast facilities when some tourism attractions were cancelled from the tourist itinerary to the detriment of the local economy.
In conclusion, this further highlights the importance of proper co-ordination and co-operation between relevant sister government departments including the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, amongst others, and in this case the Department of Transport.
I wish to reiterate, furthermore, what my colleague, the hon Farrow raised earlier that there also needs to be a healthy working relationship, synergy and the alignment of the purpose between the three spheres of government. In the absence of these, the department will fail to meet the targets envisaged in the National Tourism Sector Strategy, the NTSS, and the NDP to the detriment of the economy and country. [Time expired.] I thank you. [Applause.]
Ms N R BHENGU
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 39
Mr M R SAYEDALI SHAH
IsiXhosa:
Mnu F BHENGU: Mhlalingaphambili, kudla ngokuthiwa izinja ezikhonkotha ziginya kufuneka uzilumkele.
English:
South Africa starts with us. It is not about what we are, but who we are. I've been taught that if you keep on quoting, you will never be quoted. [Laughter.]
It is with great honour, respect and humility to be accorded this opportunity after the eloquent, informative and constructive articulations made by the hon Minister, the hon Deputy Minister, the hon chairperson of the portfolio committee and the hon colleagues collectively ...
IsiXhosa:
... Maz'enethole. IsiXhosa sithi, mathol' anyongande kukudlelana.
English:
I concur with everyone present and everyone who spoke and agreed to support this Budget Vote. The annual Tourism Indaba that brings together minds that suffer no poverty of imagination - unfortunately, we were not there, Comrade Chair - is a milestone and the heartbeat of our nation. The deliberations that took place and the strides taken, rekindled our living conscience to remember about what brought the negotiations for a new South Africa.
It ties up with tourism because of – if you listen, you will hear what I'm going to say - your steadfastness Minister and Deputy Minister in profiling the role of your department in meeting our country's 1994 mission and vision ... [Interjections.] - you go and read our Constitution; no, it is because you don't know - and its current notable contribution to our economy, even during trying times, is worth commending.
The sterling work done by your director-general complimented by your staff, and the entity is continually leaving an indelible mark in our long walk to prosperity and eternity. Special thanks goes to the SA Tourism and the Financial and Fiscal Commission, and all those who came before the portfolio committee for constructive deliberations. Your inputs were invaluable and immeasurable. Thanks again.
We are here today witnessing and testifying about what was born of our negotiations - the subsequent outcomes of the 1994 elections and our Constitution. The road was not easy. Minister, I recall when you locked horns with the late Comrade Peter Mokaba, pulling together to find ourselves in the negotiation processes. We overcame our pride and prejudices and toned down our arrogance and eccentricity. We learned to forgive, embrace, reconcile and respect one another. [Applause.] That is why people are still coming to South Africa to date. It is through your leadership, Minister.
We agreed that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. We re-affirmed that we shall honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land, and honour those who have worked to build and develop our country. We still honour those and we say thank you. [Applause.] That is why people are flocking into our country.
There is something very interesting about the ANC. It taught us one thing, and I will say it in isiXhosa ...
IsiXhosa:
... mntwana kaSuka. Ithi, xa uthandaza ungaze uthi: Uze ufike Bawo nalapho ndingazange ndifikelele khona. [Kwahlekwa.] Yithi: Uze usincede Bawo sifike apho singenako ukufikelela khona.
English:
That is where the ANC is to date. [Applause.]
IsiXhosa:
Ayithi yakungaphendulwa imithandazo, ibe sele isithi, "hayi, andisayi kuyivotela i-ANC".
English:
Tourism is a fundamental and profound catalyst that pursues these ideals and beyond. It shall remain the core force in uniting our nation and embracing all those who visit our shores for all good reasons as prescribed and enshrined in our Constitution and dictated to by our laws - the National Development Plan, our New Growth Path and the National Tourism Strategy. I don't have to repeat because members have said it all. It is a pity that you were not in the annual Tourism Indaba and wish you were there for just a while. [Laughter.]
We have to admit that it was not easy. We had challenges, made mistakes, learned and conquered. All this was for the good of our nation. Constructive criticism made us more determined. The repulsive and catatonic posturing by our critiques is wanting and shall always be. To those critiques, Amilcar Cabral warns: "Tell no lies. Expose lies wherever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories."
He further says, Culture is simultaneously the fruit of a people's history and a determinant of history, by the positive or negative influence which it exerts on the evolution of relationships between man and the environment, and among men or groups of men within a society, as well as among different societies.
In this journey, the truth about where we come from cannot be wished away. It is our history that humbles us. We are proud to say, we all jointly and severally defeated apartheid -. all of us, black and white. We are not setting anyone aside. Whether one likes it or not, we shall make reference to our past and what it did to our people. In so doing, we educate our young people not to repeat the mistakes of the past by mutation. The distortion of our history made by those who never were, and those who proclaim to have done things for us instead of doing things with us, is unfortunate, because there are still those who continuously want to do things for us instead of doing things with us. [Interjections.]
Tourism is about social and economic interaction, consultation and partnerships and healthy competition. I do revere unequivocally our legendary ancestors who stood the test of time, sacrificing their lives in defence of our identity and natural assets - movable and immovable - and made us who we are today. I am referring to the Khois and the Sans who transcended the hills and shores of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape, all in defence of the towering and unshakable Table Mountain, the expanse of the Namaqua and its daisies embracing the desert ...
IsiXhosa:
... neengxangxasi, nezilo, nezilwanyana ezikumahlathi aseTsitsikamma.
English:
The Xhosas, Zulus and Sothos, fearlessly fought those who were obsessed with the notion of having discovered what was already in existence and occupied by Africans; those self-proclaimed Homo sapiens who saw themselves as superior species, who upon their arrival purported to have discovered a subspecies and called it the Homo sapien sapien. Little did they know that they were at the cradle of mankind, their own genesis. That is where they also originated?
I adore with pride the valour and the vigour displayed by those before us who conquered iintaba zoKhahlamba [Drakensberg Mountains] and nurtured the grazing fields along ...
IsiXhosa:
... iGqili eMangaung, mntwana wam, nakuloo mlambo iLimpopo apho kwabelwana ngokungcamiselana zizizwe – ndiphazanyiswa yile nto bantu bakowethu, indixelela ukuba ixesha lam liyaphela. [Kwahlekwa.] Mandigqibe ngelithi ke, kuba kaloku bendisiya ekugqibeleni...
English:
... we have noted - and I have also noted - that we have raised the issues and the Minister has responded to such and it is an ongoing process. We spoke about the issues of corruption which we dealt with and we are engaging ...
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON (Mrs N G NGELE): Hon members, you still have four more minutes. [Interjections.]
Mr F BHENGU: Thank you very much. We also spoke about crime that is affecting us. We are not running away from it, we are strengthening our ... [Interjections.] The reason why I'm saying these things is because it harness and cause all the people who are reflecting on the South African situation to look at it in a better way and to know that we are acting on those issues. Unlike you who will keep on howling. Can I say howling - is it parliamentary to say howling? [Interjections.] When I started I said, when a dog barks with its mouth full of food morsels, you must always ignore it because it will make you angry. [Interjections.]
Comrade Shah, you spoke about Port St Johns - it is a prime. If you had interacted with the Eastern Cape government ... [Interjections.] ... they will tell you about the programmes they have, how they have identified all the small towns and how they intend to support them to develop. Therefore, that is critically important. We are not running away from the issue, but what I'm saying is that it has been identified, and the provincial and national governments are jointly addressing the issue.
Having said that - I know my time is over - once again, Minister, the ANC supports this Budget Vote. To the hon young man over there, you have Comrade Shah who is still a comrade and will keep on teaching you about where we come from. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
The ACTING CHAIRPERSON(Mrs N G NGELE): Hon Minister, I will give you three more minutes. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF TOURISM
UNREVISED HANSARD
EPC – OLD ASSEMBLY CHAMBER
Tuesday, 14 May 2013 Take: 40
Mr F BHENGU
The MINISTER OF TOURISM: Chairperson, that is very kind of you. I might need the three minutes to deal with all the issues that hon members raised. First of all, I would like to thank all hon members who participated in this debate for their support and also the support from all the political parties represented in this House. I would like to deal with a number of issues related to Tourism Indaba which were raised by hon Farrow and hon Bam-Mugwanya, the issue of the accommodation sector, the airline sector, the 2020 targets that hon Sayedali Shah raised, the carbon footprint, the e-visa issues that hon Lesoma raised, culture and heritage tourism that hon Bhengu raised, and also the Lilizela National Tourism Awards.
First of all, I know that our parliamentary Rules do not allow referring to specific members in the gallery, although some people actually do it, but I would like to just point to the officials' gallery. The officials who are here from both the department and SA Tourism look a little jaded, because they had to catch early flights to be here this morning. As you heard, it is the last day of Indaba, but they had to be present here.
Let me start off by saying that in our department, we have three requirements for people who serve in senior leadership positions. Firstly, they must know our industry, and they must know it well. Secondly, they must be willing and able to work hard and not be clock-watchers. Thirdly, we don't tolerate any corruption in our department, none whatsoever. [Applause.] That is why, since our team took over, for the last eight or nine years, SA Tourism has received all clean audits, year after year. In the national department, when I was part of Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, and even now, the department has received clean audits year after year. Those are the people that we would like to thank. [Applause.]
Let me start with the Indaba. Saturday night with the opening event, I said that we need to modernise and expand the Indaba. At this moment, the Indaba is still the top travel and tourism show, a great platform on the African continent. However, out there, there is a lot of competition, and the world is changing. The hon Farrow said that we should bring new life to the Indaba, as there are fewer buyers. Let us just remember what is happening in the world. All trade platforms are under pressure, because of all the changes taking place - the internet and new social media. People are looking at new ways to find out about products, so we are not only up against competition from other trade platforms but also the new media. That is what we have to deal with. Now, I am absolutely convinced that if we make some decisive changes, the Indaba will continue to be, by far, the biggest trade platform on the African continent for tourism but also one of the three or four biggest in the world. Our vision, as the department and government, is that a few years from now, we want every African country to be at Indaba. We want more buyers – international buyers and South African buyers.
Let me just deal with something upfront. I know fully well that there is a part of our industry that feels threatened by this, because they feel that this is a South African trade platform and that we shouldn't allow other people in, because they are our competition. I am a firm believer that competition is good for all of us. If there are better quality products on the African continent, well, then we must compete with that. It will force us to lift our game. On the African continent, we should stop resenting each other's success. We should really feed off of each other's success. [Applause.] If we want to be number one on this continent as a country, in terms of our tourism growth, we must not be afraid of competition. That is why we refer to "co-opetition." It is competition but also co-operation. So, that is what we would like to do with Indaba, and I am convinced that we will achieve just that.
On the arrival figures, let me just say that I appreciate all the comments made, but let me just take colleagues back a few years.
After the Fifa Soccer World Cup, people wondered what we would do then. At that time, we would have been in real trouble. Remember, after all the mega-events that other countries hosted, they experienced a slump in tourism, but I assured this House and said that we had strategies in place and that we would do well. I must admit that I knew we were under pressure. As colleagues can now see, we continued to grow year after year, even after the Fifa Soccer World Cup. That is because six months before the Fifa Soccer World Cup, we had our strategies in place, and when the Soccer World Cup caravan – Fifa – left this country, our new strategies kicked in. Now we can look back and say that, indeed, we have planned well.
Even if we congratulate ourselves with the good arrival figures, let's just look at other indicators, as well, and just say to ourselves that when it is going well, one should always remember that there are new challenges and old challenges that we still have to deal with. If we look at spend, it is up from Asia, Europe, the Americans, but from Africa, it is marginally down. If we look at a very important indicator, length of stay, it is down from just over eight days to just over seven days. This is because the new international trend is for people to travel closer to home and for shorter periods of time. As a long-haul destination, we should understand that it is not only about the number of people arriving here; it is how much they spend and how long they stay. In this regard, the performance that we have put up over the last year will be very difficult to repeat year after year, but we must accept the challenge.
Then, on the accommodation sector, I know that two or three years ago, the accommodation sector in this country was very pessimistic, because many new hotels were built for the Fifa Soccer World Cup. Colleagues, you can remember in this House and out in public, I issued a warning and said that we understood that investments are long-term decisions. I also said that I was worried that over the short term, we may not be able to fill up all the new hotel rooms. People said that then, as government, we must provide guidance. My response was that government cannot guide this kind of long-term investment decisions. That is not what we are supposed to do. We will support, and we will be there to help them fill up the hotels, because we are part of one industry. I must say that it is turning. From a year or two ago, where we had a 50% occupation rate, we are up to 60%. So, it is getting better. There may be some local areas where there is still a lower than 60% occupation rate, but generally speaking, we are catching up, and we are doing much better. That actually proves the point from the investors' side that they took long-term decisions that will now give them a good return on their money.
With regard to the airline or aviation sector, our sector is joined at the hip to aviation. I know that we have a Department of Transport responsible for some areas of transport and we have the Department of Public Enterprises for the national airline. It is with that qualification that I would like to make some of my remarks.
What we want, as the tourism sector, is more competition on routes, not only international routes but also domestic routes. It will drive down prices and increase standards. That is our view. That is why we will support all efforts to achieve just that. We serve on the committee of the Department of Transport that is responsible for landing slots. That is our approach, together with our colleagues. Let me just say that it is also a government view. The new airline policy will come to Cabinet soon, and all of us are working together to ensure that we keep our aviation industry competitive because we understand the challenge.
Let me turn to the SA Airways, our national carrier, to which hon Farrow also referred. My view, and that of our department, is that we need a national carrier in this country. I know that there are some people and some political parties who argue that everything should simply be privatised. Let's be rational about this. I think we need a well-managed and well-funded national carrier. Sometimes when colleagues argue this case – sometimes I listen in Parliament – they then compare us with other medium-sized airlines that operate under totally different circumstances. We are not an international hub. We are an end-of-route operator here. It is quite different, colleagues. So, even if it may go well and we may have many airlines flying here, we have a vulnerability that we should never forget. Then, of course, we should have a well-managed, well-run national airline.
Over the years, I must admit, I have been very critical of our national airline, but let me say here that under the leadership of the previous chief executive officer, Siza Mzimela, it started to change. I want to credit her. The acting chief executive officer, Mr Nico Bezuidenhout, changed it even further. I want to congratulate the new chief executive officer, Monwabisi Kalawe. We hope that he will be able to implement that turnaround strategy. Cabinet must still receive the final turnaround strategy. It is already with the Department of Public Enterprises, but the first signs are that some of those decisions are exactly what we want: to ensure that we have a national carrier that will be competitive internationally and that will be well run. That is with regard to the airline.
Let me just say that from 2 to 4 June, as a country, we will be hosting the International Air Travel Association, Iata, here in Cape Town. It is their global summit, and the chief executive officers from airlines all over the world are here to attend – all the key stakeholders. It is a very important event. I would like to invite colleagues and urge them to attend and liaise with the people there, because it is an exciting industry, and many changes are taking place. Let me end with the 2020 targets.
By way of implication, hon Gumede referred to the growing carbon footprint issue, and hon Lesoma also referred to it. It is a reality. I know that there are some people in the environmental field that argue that people should be told that they shouldn't travel as much because it is bad because of greenhouse gases. Do you know what? Only a small percentage of people will listen to that message. Hon Sayedali Shah referred to one billion people who travelled last year as tourists. In just a few years from now, that will grow exponentially to 1,7 billion. People will not travel less. So, what should we do? Aircraft design is very important. Air traffic management for the shortest routes is very important. The big game changer will be alternative fuels – biofuels.
There is a role for governments to play, and we must never forget that. In this phase of research, we cannot just leave it to the private sector. Then for the accommodation sector, it is about green building design, retrofitting, alternative sources of energy, waste management, but our industry must come to the table to ensure that we become a much more environmentally friendly sector. Certainly, there are good signs in our industry that an increasing number of people understand that message.
With regard to e-visas – let me just pre-empt that to convey to the House how our sector will change over the coming years. In a few years from now, when we apply for a visa, unlike going to all the embassies, standing in queues, going for a personal interview, and going back, we will simply apply online for a visa. Australia has become the first country to introduce the e-visa. I have to congratulate them. It is a good development. It took courage, but it is the right thing to do. Many of us, over the next few years, will follow that. In a few years from now, we will get our final visa on our mobiles. When we check in at hotels, no longer will we check in downstairs. Everything will be on our mobiles, and we will go up to the second and third floors, unlock our doors, and enter our hotel rooms. We will also be able to set the air conditioning an hour or two before we arrive in our rooms. If our flights are delayed, there will just be automatic rebookings of all our connecting flights. That is how our world will change.
We have won the debate on e-visas. The technology is already there. Logistically, it is a huge improvement. We must still win the security argument, and we are engaging our security colleagues. However, as I stand here, I am convinced that it is much more safe and secure to go e-visa instead of the present manual system. Let's continue with that work in government, and I am quite sure that we will get there.
Then, on the issue of the national tourism awards, on Saturday at the Indaba we announced – and I would like to thank all the hon members who attended Indaba, as the trade appreciated your presence there, and I certainly did – that in September we will have the first national tourism awards. Up to now, we had different award systems run by different organisations. We will now consolidate that, but just remember that it is not about people getting a cash prize. The rationale behind that is to improve the standards in our industry, to give recognition to excellence, and to create role models that young people can look up to. That is what we would like to achieve. The nominations are already open. I would like to encourage you to look at that, to nominate people, and to encourage other people to nominate.
In September we will award in five categories, ranging from service excellence to responsible and sustainable tourism to special ministerial awards that will recognise individuals and companies that play a decisive role in assisting us to reach the 2020 targets, both in South Africa and internationally. Please help us to make the new Lilizela National Tourism Awards a success.
I had one issue outstanding – hon Bhengu's issue on culture and heritage tourism and 2020 targets – so let me just say, Chairperson, we are on course to achieve our 2020 targets, and I appreciate the support from members and from all parties. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The Committee rose at 12:31.
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