Date: 03/09/2004
Source: Ministry for Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Title: M Van Schalkwyk: Help Develop Next Generation of SA Tourists


EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS & TOURISM, AT THE SEND-OFF OF THE TOURISM INVESTMENT TRAIN TO MPUMALANGA FROM THE JOHANNESBURG STATION ON 3 SEPTEMBER 2004

Minister Invites Private Sector to Help Develop Next Generation of SA Tourists

A key focus of our Tourism Month celebrations is tapping into the growth potential of the South African domestic tourism market to help us ensure that we build a sustainable local tourism industry and expanding domestic tourism into our less-visited provinces.

We have seen the launch of our very successful Sho't Left domestic marketing campaign, aimed at the over 6,3 million South Africans with the resources and the desire to travel, but who never do so because they believe it is unaffordable, or that there are not many holiday options that appeal to them within South Africa. We have also launched our Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Scorecard process aimed at creating a more level playing-field in tourism, not just in ownership, but also in management and participation.

Given the make-up of our country this process also makes business sense as we transform our products to attract a more diversified group of tourists.

As we launch the Tourism Fun Train to Mpumalanga today, I welcome and congratulate Investec and Telkom for being partners in this exciting initiative, helping tourists to discover the province where the sun rises. I would also like to congratulate Mpumalanga on this project and use the opportunity to invite other corporate companies to join us in ventures such as this. I think that this partnership with business is a vital opportunity to expand our focus to the development of the next generation of South African tourists and tourism entrepreneurs.

One of the most important contributions that we can make to our future tourism success is to expand education and awareness around tourism by offering tourism as a subject in more South African schools to more learners. We must also improve our service standards to meet the requirements of our clients. The Sho't Left pioneers of today are blazing a tourism fun trail for our new generations to follow.

I am very proud today to announce that this year we now have about 127 000 learners in more than 680 high schools countrywide who are studying tourism * up from only 55 000 last year. This is a major achievement and the National and Provincial Departments of Education, assisted by our partners in the private sector, deserve real credit for this improvement.

Teaching tourism as a subject is vital for a number of reasons:

• It creates an awareness amongst the youth and their communities of the importance to the economy of tourism;
• It promotes domestic tourism by encouraging an interest amongst the youth in travel and exploration in South Africa;
• It assists us preparing communities across the country for the influx of visitors expected for major events such as the 2010 Soccer World Cup;
• It contributes to job creation and poverty alleviation as learners realise the possibilities for tourism entrepreneurship in their communities;