Issued by: Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
MEDIA STATEMENT ON MINISTER Z PALLO JORDAN'S MEETING WITH THE S.A. TOURISM BOARD:
PRETORIA 26 NOVEMBER 1996
The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Dr Z. Pallo Jordan met the South African Tourism Board in Pretoria, 26 November 1996.
In addressing the S.A. Tourism Board, Minister Jordan welcomed the passing of the Tourism Amendment Act by Parliament during early November and described its passage as the opportunity we have been waiting for in tourism.
"In terms of the Act and its memorandum," the Minister said, "SATOUR can now be restructured in accordance with the recommendations of the White Paper on Tourism. The uncertainty that surrounded SATOUR has now been resolved."
The Minister announced that advertisements calling for nominations from the public and all stakeholders to the new S.A. Tourism Board will be carried in the press this weekend. He also indicated his confidence that a new Tourism Board would be in place by March/April 1997. This new board will include nominees from the provincial governments.
Once in place, the Minister said, the new Tourism Board will be tasked with the swift restructuring of SATOUR so as to transform it into an organisation with which all South Africans would want to associate.
Explaining his vision for Tourism in South Africa the Minister undertook, together with the Tourism Board, to elaborate a medium and long term game plan to transform the Tourist industry into a major foreign exchange earner by the year 2000 and the fastest growing industry by the early years of the 21st century. To attain this, he explained would require a working partnership among government, the communities, the private sector and labour.
Funding, a topic with which the Tourism Board meeting was seized even today, still remains the principal impediment to the effective marketing of South Africa in both its traditional markets and the newly emergent ones.
The Minister underscored the importance of canvasing and winning support for his vision amongst Cabinet colleagues, saying: "Until the Government of National Unity is on side, we cannot hope to transform this into reality."
The significance of internal tourism was also discussed as the Minister is aware that most South Africans prefer to spend their holidays at home. To tap the potential of this internal market would require the co-operation of other departments especially Transport and Trade and Industry.
The regional dimension of Tourism, the Minister said, would also have to be more fully explored. His ministry was currently engaged with other Ministries in examining the possibilities of marketing Southern Africa as a region, as a tourist destination.
Until South Africa was seen as offering value for money, tourism and its potential would not be realised, the Minister told the Tourism Board. To ensure that this happened he would be engaging with principal role players early in the new year to consult on issues such as the grading system, training programmes and mechanisms for the consistent evaluation of services.
Though crime has impacted very negatively on South Africa's image abroad, the Minister expressed his continuing optimism about the future. While the growth rate for tourism internationally was 13,50%, the comparable figure for South Africa was 15%. This trend, the Minister said, must be sustained and held out the promise of tourism indeed becoming a new growth industry in South Africa.
Issued by: Cassandra Gabriel Media Liaison Officer Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Private Bag X883 Pretoria 0001
Tel: 012-219587 Cell: 082 573 4168