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Date
: 26/09/2003
Source: Northern Cape Provincial Government
Title: Dipico: World Tourism Day celebration
ADDRESS BY NORTHERN CAPE PREMIER MANNE DIPICO AT THE OCCASION OF
THE WORLD TOURISM DAY CELEBRATIONS, Upington, 26 September
2003
Programme Director,
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mr. Valli
Moosa
Honourable Ministers and MECs
Members of the Provincial Legislatures
Chief Executive Officer SA Tourism, MS Cheryl Carolus
Representatives of Local Government and District Councils,
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of the people of the Northern Cape, I would like to thank
you most sincerely for the honour you have extended to us to stage
this important event in our Province and hope that you will
immensely enjoy our environmental beauty, incredible heritage and
spectacular landscape.
The hosting of this event clearly demonstrates our assertion that
the Northern Cape Province has the capacity to host national events
of any magnitude.
It therefore gives me great pleasure, to invite every citizen of
the country on a journey of discovery to explore and experience our
wonderful natural and human constructed beauty of the
province.
The Northern Cape boasts a diversity of tourism attractions,
including ethnic, cultural, adventure and wildlife and economic
development opportunities.
As a tourist destination, it is completely different to other
destinations in South Africa. Not only is it completely different
from other destinations in the country, but also a destination full
of uncanny surprises, in fact downright irony. It is the province
with the most national parks in South Africa - six in total with
the seventh one being developed as we speak.
It offers so much that is in abundance, precious and unique. We
have the natural wonders of the flowers of the Namakwa, waterfalls,
the mysterious mountainous desert of the Richtersveldt, the rugged
desert wildlife of the Kalahari, the vast landscapes of the Karoo
and the indigenous people such as Nama, Griqua, Khomani San, !Xu
and Khwe . It is also a warm friendly and safe place that welcomes
visitors with open arms.
Programme Director,
World Tourism Day which is celebrated around the world each year
provides us with an ideal opportunity to recognise the importance
of tourism, and to mobilise all our people to play an active role
in matters of tourism.
Indeed, It is a day in which we can concentrate on our many
strengths, on our shared sense of purpose and hopes for the future,
on the many wonderful resources and beautiful places with which our
country and continent is gifted, on the diverse faces and
experiences that, collectively, make up our soul as a nation.
Let me also take this opportunity to encourage all South Africans
to go out and discover the beauty of South Africa and enjoy the
tourism products that are available in this part of the
country.
We are doing so, because we have also noted that members of
previously disadvantaged communities are still not coming through
in sufficient numbers as product owners of mainstream tourist
offerings such as guesthouses, game lodges, transport operators,
restaurant owners, etc.
I again call on mainstream tourism product owners to assist
government's efforts to extend their skills and opportunities to
members of previously disadvantaged communities, to share it with
them, especially in the spirit of Tourism Month - a spirit which
must not be allowed to diminish once September 2003 has
passed.
Tourism is a people-oriented industry, which serves the people by
the people themselves. Based on the world and regional trend,
tourism has emerged to play a role as a fastest growing industry
and to become a driving force to boost the world economy at present
and in the future.
The direct and indirect income from tourism greatly contributes to
the national economy such as earning foreign currency, creating job
opportunity to the people, and alleviating poverty.
The Northern Cape provincial government is intent on fostering a
winning economy and a spirit of entrepreneurship and economic
freedom in our province. We are assuring a new path of growth
development and job creation, creating a better life for all our
people in the process.
Indeed, we are delighted to announce that the Tourism
Entrepreneurship Programme (TEP) finally established an office in
Kimberley as a sign of their dedication to grow and develop
emerging tourism entrepreneurs in the Northern Cape. This will go a
long way to fast-tract the transformation of, and redress
imbalances in the provincial tourism industry.
In terms of Tourist guide training, we are conducting training for
previously disadvantaged communities in Riemvasmaak and Mier. More
tourist guides from previously disadvantaged communities will be
trained from October 2003 in Namaqualand and in the Richtersveld.
The guiding sector in the Northern Cape will be fully transformed
with 90% of all registered tourist guides in the Province coming
from previously disadvantaged communities by the end of Tourism
Month 2003.
Primarily, tourism is central to economic development and job
creation. Certain employment opportunities are directly
attributable to tourism and numerous other jobs are indirectly
dependent upon tourism activities.
In essence, tourism can provide jobs in areas where other forms of
employment may not be readily available, and for groups such as
women and young people who tend to experience difficulty in finding
work.
In this regard, tourism development must be sustainable in the
long-term.
It must not only be economically sustainable so that steady
employment and incomes are provided for our peoples but also
environmentally sustainable, which means preserving, in the
interest of present and future generations, the assets that human
and nature have created.
During the World Tourism Indaba President Thabo Mbeki said the
following "I undertake that as Africans, we will do everything we
can to protect our flora and fauna; to protect our rivers and seas;
to develop our roads, ports and airports; to protect the great
African heritage in the arts, culture and architecture."
It is with that resolve that we committed ourselves to preserve our
natural heritage for future generations to come.
Never before has tourism offered us such possibilities. We believe
that, with international support, tourism can become one of the
corner stones in the generation of sustained economic growth so
critical to the building of our nation.
In conclusion, I would like to applaud, appreciate and thank the
staff of the Northern Cape Tourism Authority, provincial department
of economic affairs and tourism, as well as other government
related tourism staff and product owners in the province for their
contribution to develop and promote the Northern Cape tourism
industry, as well as for your efforts to make sure that the
national celebration of Tourism Month 2003 is taking place in the
Northern Cape.
I thank you
Issued by the Northern Cape Provincial Government, 26 September
2003
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