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SA poised for bumper tourism year‚ says Hanekom

Stood up to Zuma: Derek Hanekom
Stood up to Zuma: Derek Hanekom

South Africa is poised for a bumper tourism year‚ with an expected growth of 4% this year‚ tourism minister Derek Hanekom says.

Opening this year’s Tourism Indaba at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Conventional Centre in Durban on Saturday‚ Hanekom said despite some challenges that hampered tourism in the country last year‚ this year was looking up for the sector.

“Some of the challenges experienced in South Africa last year resulted in dwindling tourism numbers‚” he said.

“That’s not behind us‚ but we are experiencing spectacular growth in tourism numbers.

“All indications are that 2016 will be a bumper year for tourism.... with 4% growth expected across Africa.”

Challenges included the since-revised visa regulations and how minors travelling in and out the country had to produce unabridged birth certificates at entry points.

The industry was dealt a new blow last week‚ with sports minister Fikile Mbalula banning some of the country’s major sporting codes from hosting or bidding to stage major international events.

This due to a lack of transformation.

Hanekom said the weakened Rand had become the sector’s saving grace‚ with international tourists capitalising on it‚ though not as much as anticipated.

Thousands of participants‚ including exhibitors from 18 African countries‚ packed Durban’s ICC to showcase or buy into the country and continent’s tourism offerings at the biggest trade show of its nature in Africa.

Among the exhibitors were the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism‚ Buffalo City Municipality and Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA)‚ who are collaborating from this year onwards to market the province as a whole.

With this year’s emphasis on small businesses‚ 70 tourism SMMEs exhibited‚ with 12 of those from the Eastern Cape.

Addressing a gathering at the ICC auditorium‚ KwaZulu-Natal economic development MEC Michael Mabuyakhulu said tourism was regarded as one of the future growth engines of the global economy because of it’s resilience in the face of market turbulence.

In 2014‚ tourism’s 3% injection into the GDP surpassed agriculture’s 2.5% contribution‚ Mabuyakhulu said.

“In this country‚ this sector continues to be the key contributor to economy and job creation‚ with one in every 25 people in tourism business‚” he said.

“This translates to 4.5% of the country’s workforce are in tourism related job.”

The Indaba continues until Monday.

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