SPEECH BY MR POPO MOLEFE, PREMIER OF THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE DELIVERED AT A CONGRESS OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF TRAVEL AGENTS (ABTA) ON OCTOBER 2 AT SUN CITY
Issued by: North West Communication Service
Allow me, at the outset, to thank the South African Tourism Board for inviting me to address you this morning. We place an extremely high value on your presence in our province and are proud to host the most important foreign tourism meeting ever to be held in South Africa.
You will be aware that the United Kingdom is by far our biggest foreign tourism market. It is our wish that you will go back to strengthen and solidify this link even further, and that, those of you who are not already converted, will become true ambassadors for South Africa and its people.
In the words of President Nelson Mandela: "It is in tourism that nature and humanity meet most equitably and profitably."
Indeed, South Africa's natural beauty offers a fitting setting for our country's most valuable asset - its people. Ours is a nation of warm and generous people. Its great variety of culture and heritage, once exploited to divide our people, has been turned by them into a source of strength and richness in every sphere of life. Our cultural diversity is increasingly becoming one of our major tourist attractions, and I hope you will benefit from it.
However, we are not blinded by this euphoria. While we are welcoming all these visitors to our shores and making all prepara- tions humanly possible to host them, we realise that South Africa will not be the "flavour of the day" much longer, and that we have to capitalise on the present situation. We also realise that tourism is an extremely fragile industry and that there are factors that need our attention in South Africa if we are serious about making this industry work for all our people.
These factors include:
1. Making sure our tourism infrastructure is developed appropriately, according to market needs. 2. Making sure we remain an affordable and value for money destination. 3. Making sure the tourism influx does not impact negatively on our natural environment. 4. And most important of all, making sure our destination is safe, and establishing this perception in the minds of the potential visitor.
These factors are critical if South Africa is to reach its full tourism potential. The South African Tourism Board predicts that the number of overseas visitors to our country could reach the one million mark this year - quite an improvement against the 704 000 of 1994. By the end of the century, the predict, the figure could exceed two million.
Few countries are given a second chance - a second window of opportunity. South Africa is in this extremely fortunate position, and we are serious that, this time round, we will make it work.
In terms of tourism, we are serious about giving the visitor exactly what he or she needs. International trends in tourism are also reaching South Africa, and we are very much aware that satisfying individual tourist needs is the new name of the game.
My message to you this morning is positive. We are doing our homework. We are serious about making tourism South Africa's number one foreign exchange earner, as is the case with the tax base, but tourism development projects also provide spin-off opportunities for the expansion of basic services such as roads, water and sanitation.
I am sure that throughout this congress you will notice the seriousness with which South Africans approach the issue of nation building and socioeconomic upliftment. Every visitor to our shores makes a small contribution in this regard, for which we are truly grateful.
The South African tourism industry is approaching a new dawn. We are confident our destination is a very special and unique one. We thank you for your past efforts in promoting our beautiful product, and appeal to you to continue to do so. At the same time please do not forget the traditionally less frequent part of our land, such as this beautiful province in you find yourselves today.