Address by KwaZulu-Natal Premier S Ndebele at the Tourism Indaba 2007, Durban

Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mr Marthinus van Schalkwyk
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
National Ministers present
MECs from all provinces
Members of Parliament
Mayor of EThekwini Municipality, Clr Obed Mlaba
CEO of South African Tourism, Mr Moeketsi Mosola
Tourism delegates
Ladies and gentlemen

Tourism booming in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)

It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to the South African
Tourism Indaba 2007 and I especially welcome those who are visitors to the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Amongst you this afternoon are old friends of our province. We have no doubt that during this year's Indaba we will increase our circle of friendship and stretch it to more corners of the world. I hope your stay will allow you the opportunity to sample as much as you can of what is on offer in the way of tourist attractions, not just in Durban but further inland as well. The Tourism Indaba, which we are proud to host, has become one of the world's top three of such events and has become a vital connection between South Africa and its neighbouring states and the international market.

Ladies and gentlemen, I find it appropriate that South African Tourism should choose Durban for the Tourism Indaba because KwaZulu-Natal is one of the most dynamic and exciting regions on this entire continent. This is a province which has already dedicated some R8 billion to infrastructural development over the coming years. This includes the widening and deepening of Durban harbour so that it can handle the new generation of super-tankers. It includes the development of a new international airport some five kilometres north of Durban that will handle new generation airliners and freight aircraft. The airport will give KwaZulu Natal a long-haul capacity to reach the international markets of Europe, the Indian Ocean Rim and elsewhere. We are also in the middle of preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup which include constructing a massive and iconic stadium here in Durban, where one of the World Cup semi-finals will be played.

We are well on the way to ensuring that we are ready to host the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. In this Host City of Durban, our 70 000-seater stadium is ahead of schedule and we will soon be launching an inner-city people mover. We have over 10 hotels presently under construction and have a tremendous range of tourism products under development, from beachfront experiences to historical, cultural and artistic products. On 23 November this year, right here at the ICC Arena complex, we will host the 2010 FIFA Preliminary Draw which will be one of Africa biggest media events. The African qualifiers of the Beach Soccer World Cup will again be held here in Durban. We are steaming ahead towards 2010 having recently hosted yet another successful A1 Grand Prix. This is not an exhaustive list and I am pleased that we have many exciting events planned for the next few years.

We mention all of these factors because they give an indication of the inherent economic strength of this province and its growing strategic importance. Our harbours at Durban the largest and busiest in Africa and Richards Bay, further north the largest bulk goods handler in Africa connect to the industrial heartland of Gauteng province. These are the arteries of the economy of South Africa itself and of Southern Africa as a whole. When the Dube Tradeport is constructed incorporating the new international airport I have just mentioned the configuration of Durban, Richards Bay and Dube will create a new economic hub, a springboard into the African hinterland and a highly efficient connection with the outside world that has not existed before. In this vein, we see KwaZulu-Natal developing into something like a Singapore of Southern Africa, with an exponential increase in trade and economic traffic as the Durban/Richards Bay/Dube system develops certainly be an important facet of this economic development, ranking, as it already does, alongside our industrial and agricultural output.

Tourism is already an important and highly developed industry in KwaZulu-Natal. We dominate the domestic market and are taking an increasing share of the international one as well. We believe that as the general economy of KwaZulu-Natal grows, the tourism sector will grow as well. It is one of those facts of economics. Growth in one sector stimulates growth in others. What I am saying, ladies and gentlemen, is that, investment in the tourism economy of KwaZulu-Natal - any involvement with it - means buying a stake in a zone of burgeoning economic activity and rising prosperity. It is a very good bet. There are reasons why KwaZulu-Natal should already have such a developed tourism sector and such a healthy share of the market. The province has powerful natural attractions, scenic grandeur in settings that range from high mountains to wonderful beaches and coral reefs, pristine wilderness with the Big Five - lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo - and in one wilderness area the Big Six.

At Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, we have whales as well as elephant - the greatest marine mammals and the greatest terrestrial mammals. I am sure this is unique. We also have two World Heritage sites at Greater St Lucia and in the Ukhahlamba/Drakensberg mountain range. KwaZulu-Natal history in the battlefields of the Anglo Zulu War and the Anglo Boer War is second to none. Perhaps our greatest asset is our vibrant cultural diversity, KZN being a meeting place of the heritages of Africa, Asia and Europe. The diversity is all about us in architecture, dress, language, religion, cuisine, art and music. I believe this is one of KwaZulu-Natal's biggest attractions.

As the Government of KwaZulu Natal we are taking steps to remedy the marginalisation of a very important part of our country and province's cultural heritage. We are recognising and stimulating Zulu culture, partly to reverse the slights and injustices of the past and partly to fully develop it into an integral part of the KwaZulu-Natal tourism product. Our efforts already promise to establish another tourism node in the province, and early results are encouraging. We are indeed telling the story of the Zulu people and of the people of KwaZulu Natal. At eMakhosini the Valley of the Kings, a remote and ruggedly beautiful valley in the northeast of the province, a Heritage Park has been established. Here Zulu culture is featured in proximity to a nature reserve that will eventually have the Big Five of the animal kingdom.

eMakhosini is in many ways the crucible of early Zulu history and culture. Several of the early kings are buried there. An impressively sculptured hilltop monument named Spirit of eMakhosini already draws significant numbers of tourists. In the next two months, work will begin on a R20 million state of the art multi media centre in the eMakhosini Valley at Mgungundlovu, the restored royal residence of King Dingane. This will include first-rate audio visual representations of Zulu history and culture. Tourists who cross the Thukela River into historic Zululand will encounter on the south bank something to compare with the Statue of Liberty, in New York, or the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. A giant statue of King Shaka, founder of the Zulu nation, is in the planning stages and it is intended that it will be on an iconic scale, beautiful and absolutely awe-inspiring. Elsewhere in the vicinity will be a similar statue of King Cetshwayo, who was attacked by the colonial British.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe eMakhosini has the potential to become KwaZulu-Natal's third World Heritage Site because of its cultural richness and its undisturbed ecology. Elsewhere, a statue of King Dinuzulu will be unveiled at the lower end of Berea Road in Durban next month. This statue will be placed adjacent to the existing one of the Boer forces in the Anglo Boer War and the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. There is meaning in this juxtaposition. Botha was Dinuzulu's ally in the Zulu Civil War which had been stirred up by the British colonial authorities. When he became Prime Minister of the Union, one of Botha's first actions was to release Dinuzulu, who had been imprisoned by the British after the Bhambatha Uprising.I believe these statues - one old, one new - will provide another focal point for tourism.

The unveiling will take the form of a two-day prayer meeting on 21 and 22 June this year. Other sites of Zulu history and culture are being developed as well. There is now an interpretation centre at Border Cave, a site of immense archaeological interest on the border with Swaziland, as well as rustic accommodation provided by the local community. A church is to be built at Ceza, where Dinuzulu was the first Zulu King known in history to pray to the Christian God. At Mondi there is now a monument to the Zulu's first Christian martyr Maqhamusela Khanyile. Ladies and gentlemen, KwaZulu-Natal always did have a tourism package of unrivalled variety. We are now collectively enhancing that product and in the process we have created a demand for new lodges, hotels and other tourism operations.

Ladies and gentlemen, we believe tourism in KwaZulu-Natal does not exist in isolation. A thriving tourism industry in one country, region or province benefits the others. Tourism does not recognise provincial or national boundaries. Our challenge is to establish tourism nodes where the attraction is real, standards of service are world class, prices are competitive and the personal safety of the visitors is guaranteed. Once a pattern of such nodes is established, potential tourists are presented with a multi-destination choice. This means they are likely to spread their choice, becoming regular visitors to the sub-continent as a whole. We in KwaZulu-Natal are determined to play our part.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Tourism Indaba captures the essence of that multi-nodal, multi-destination character on which the tourism industry thrives. I wish you a pleasant and constructive few days here in the City of Durban and the province of KwaZulu-Natal. I am sure your networking will contribute in no small measure to the growth of the tourism Industry. In this way more people will get a chance to experience the beauty and hospitality of parts of the world. We hope that the greatest number will make KwaZulu-Natal a place of their choice.

Thank you.

Enquiries:
Mandla Msomi
Cell: 082 317 3727

Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
13 May 2007