South Africa annually commemorates Tourism Month in September, culminating in World Tourism Day on 27 September.
As part of the month-long tourism celebrations Patricia de Lille, Minister of Tourism, held a tourism stakeholders engagement meeting in the Caledon Town Hall on Thursday 14 September.
The meeting was opened by Mary Liebenberg, recently elected Mayor of Theewaterskloof, who thanked the minister for choosing TWK as a venue of choice to engage with the tourism sector.
De Lille, appointed by the President as District Champion of the Overberg district, said: “I am here today to come and listen, and learn from you and tell you what is currently happening in tourism at national level.
“I am depending on people who have been in the industry for a long time. People with the experience who know the obstacles, but who also know what the solutions are. I commit to working with you to achieve those solutions.”
She said after Covid-19 a recovery plan was needed, as the tourism industry was hard hit.
One was adopted by the tourism sector in March 2021, which has been distilled into a master plan that will be put to cabinet next week, after which it will be put out for public participation.
For the first seven months of the year South Africa welcomed 4,8 million tourists, but the goal is to surpass pre-covid arrivals and exceed 10 million by the end of March 2024.
De Lille is working closely with the Minister of Home Affairs to improve the visa system and the Minister of Transport to reduce and clear the backlog of tour-operator licences.
The Overberg is home to a unique combination of tourism treasures including pristine landscapes and seascapes, attracting 204 981 visitors in 2022.
The De Hoop Nature Reserve and the Kogelberg Nature Reserve have been identified for infrastructure projects, with R3,2 million allocated per site, which will also contribute to job creation in the area.
The Department of Tourism is also funding an infrastructure project under SANparks in the Agulhas National Park, which includes the Map of Africa and the Agulhas Lighthouse projects.
The Agulhas Lighthouse projects will, among others, include construction of a restaurant, interpretation centre, vendor stalls, reception area and lecture theatre. Sixty-nine percent complete, the department has invested R54 million in them.
De Lille also discussed the Tourism Incentive Programme, skills programmes, the Educators Development Programme, the norms and standards for safe operations in the tourism industry and the Green Tourism Incentive Programme (GTIP), in which the department has provided funding to tourism establishments for energy and water-efficiency technologies.
Of the 37 Western Cape approved GTIP applicants, five are located in the Overberg.
Updates on the progress the department has made with the Tourism Equity Fund, the National Transport Regulator, ease of travel as well as safety were also addressed by De Lille, who said that under the auspices of the private sector, a tourist safety APP called SECURA, was launched on 31 August.
After De Lille’s talk the floor was opened for questions and concerns. She promised to look into those questions and concerns that she did not have immediate answers to.
