FREE DAILY EMAIL

Date : 07/05/2005
Source: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Title: van Schalkwyk: Annual Tourism Indaba


Opening address at the Annual Tourism Indaba by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

Introduction

This is a moment like no other. It is known only to those who have stood beneath the darkened canopy of the African bushveld moments before dawn. Sharing the silence with the symphony of the cicada beetles, haunted by the call of the Piet-My-Vrou, and brushed by the touch of the settling dew. As the first shards of light crest the horizon, the energy that pulses through the morning mists brings life to the landscape and light to the mind. This is our product. This is our heritage. This is our pride.

As the rays of our Southern African sun stream out, they wrap themselves in the experiences of our land. Learning the game of marabaraba in the heart of the QwaQwa National Park. Throwing the bones with a Sangoma in Hluhluwe. Marvelling at a khekhapa in the villages of Modjadji the Rain Queen. Grinding corn with the people of Khaya Lendaba near Port Elizabeth. From beehive huts to initiation ceremonies, eco-walks with traditional healers and the music and dance of our people these are the sights and sounds of Mzansi.

Standing here at the opening of Indaba 2005 is one such moment. Raised up by the success of the year just past, we hear echoes of Sho't left, feel the warmth of our growing global brand, and are energised by the possibilities of the years ahead. Our future is one of vuvuzelas, of travel and exploration without boundaries. It is a future to be embraced by every community in Southern Africa, and to be enjoyed by the world. There has never been a more exciting time to be a part of tourism in our region.

Laying Down the Challenge 7 Million Visitors in 2005

In 1994, the first year of our new democracy, we experienced a taste of tourism potential. Just under 3 million visitors travelled to our country and we briefly glimpsed the power of a sleeping giant.

Ten years of hard work, partnership and belief have brought us great rewards and wakened the giant of tourism growth. Over the past three years among the most difficult ever experienced in world tourism our international arrivals have continued to grow. Last year we recorded the highest number ever - 6,7 million international travellers for whom our country and our people were the destination of choice, and this is only the beginning.

In partnership with SA Tourism we have ignited a new global flame. South and Southern Africa is on the minds and lips of the world. From China to Paris, from New York to Nairobi the word is out. South Africa is open for business, offers awesome experiences rooted in the African soil and infused with the mystique of the very origins of humankind. We stand ready to welcome the world.

With this in mind I wish today to issue a challenge to our industry, our partners and our people. The challenge is to take this new South African flame and use it to set alight the possibilities. We must fan a brushfire of enthusiasm for tourism to South Africa until it burns with such heat that we move from potential and interest to persuasion. So here then is our goal let us stand at Indaba 2006 and look back on this year as the one in which, together, we broke the barrier of 7 million international visitors.

Ensuring Innovative Excellence Introducing the Welcome Awards

So how do we rise to meet this challenge? When an enthusiastic traveller approaches a travel agent about a destination how do we ensure that it is South Africa and not Australia or Brazil that is sold? How do we reach out to new markets in parts of the world that have never before considered Southern Africa as an option convince them to travel here and then return repeatedly? The secret is innovation excellence.

Inspiration and recognition are key. There are growing numbers of men and women, institutions and organisations that are making our business their business. Many of them are sitting in this audience today. It is your enthusiasm for Southern African tourism that transforms simple holidays into life-changing experiences. It is you who are sending tourists home as ambassadors by consistently meeting and exceeding the expectations of our visitors.

  To stimulate our industry and to raise the bar even higher in providing a truly globally competitive visitor experience, I am proud and excited today to announce the creation of a new South African industry award for tourism which we believe will be the ultimate recognition for delivering service excellence to visitors. I am pleased to unveil the Welcome Awards.

This magnificent statue will be awarded next year at Indaba to the Grand Prix winner in this best-of-the-best contest. The Welcome Awards are about showcasing our tourism champions, starting with four categories – accommodation, tour operators, tourist guides and travel agents. We will seek out those who rise above world class the people and organisations in our industry blazing a trail of innovation excellence for others to follow.

Better Statistics, Better Tourism

One of the important lessons that we have learnt in the past ten years is that although the element of chance can boost or limit growth, long-term success in tourism is not coincidental. It is the result of exhaustive research, intensive planning, and professional implementation. It is a partnership, a process, and above all a product that stays fresh and appealing.

We now know enough about tourism to know how little we really know. One of the most critical tools in meeting the target of 7 million arrivals this year, and bettering it in the years to follow, is improving our tourism information. For too long we have based our planning on incomplete data and anecdotal evidence.

In 2005 this will all change. To generate reliable, internationally benchmarked figures, we will be creating a Tourism Satellite Account in partnership with StatsSA, the Reserve Bank and others. Amongst the most important information that this will generate for our industry is the specific contribution of tourism to GDP, the actual number of direct and indirect jobs in tourism, the quantity of tourism investment, and revenues generated by tourism across South Africa. Once complete we will finally have the full tourism picture, which in turn will help us to keep growing.

Changing the Face of Tourism

At Indaba last year we identified the need to change the face of our industry to open the house of South African tourism to all communities and to ensure that tourism in our country crosses not only physical borders but draws people together across the boundaries of the mind. It is deeply gratifying that tomorrow will see us taking the single most important step in this process since 1994 with the official launch of our Tourism Black Economic Empowerment Charter.

Although the Charter is a groundbreaking commitment by industry to greater access for all communities to the benefits of tourism, it is most remarkable because if it a product driven and drafted primarily by industry not by Government.

In a similar vein I would like to announce that, working closely with our provincial government and all local governments involved, we will tomorrow embark on a public consultation process to find a better name for our first World Heritage Site the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. We need a name that will reflect the incredible achievements of this national heritage flagship. We need a name that will embody the unique South African identity of the park and one that enjoys the support of all our people.

Conclusion

The dawning of the African sun brings with it a powerful message of awakening. As it reaches out to warm the land it stirs the hearts and energies of man and beast alike rousing them from slumber and energising them to seize the opportunities of the new day. It brings with it the promise of new experiences, new understandings and new horizons.

Indaba remains the largest and most important tourism trade show in Southern Africa and is now established as one of the top three 'must visit' events of its kind on the global calendar. Every year it seems that the next Indaba will be hard-pressed to match the achievements of the year before and every year the reality of this massive undertaking outpaces every expectation, and surpasses every projection. I would like to take this opportunity to thank and compliment every person involved in this event.

Our undertaking to the world must be one of exceptional quality, unrivalled experiences and world-beating value-for-money. Our shared responsibility, as Government, operators, and travellers is to ensure and to demand tourism products that sustain and support our communities, our environment and our future.

Our tourism sun continues to climb towards new global heights. What we do here today and over the course of this Indaba is to chart our journey together. We have cleared the fields and planted the seeds of tourism success. What remains is the cultivation to ensure a rich harvest.

From business tourism to eco-travel, from peace-parks to cultural products the heart of Southern African tourism beats with the rhythm of this place. Let us give life to this Indaba, let us together grow our industry and our people under the African sun. It is my great privilege to officially declare Indaba 2005 open for business.

Enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
7 May 2005

SPONSORED BY

Advanced