Durban - Government wants to see more South Africans working on cruise ships and becoming world class operators.
Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk conveyed this message at the launch of a report on cruise tourism in South Africa on the MSC Sinfonia at the Durban harbour.
"Strategies for the development of niche tourism products, such as cruise tourism, are important elements of the comprehensive plan to position tourism as one of the six key sectors of economic growth in South Africa," said van Schalkwyk.
The report indicated that the development of cruise tourism as a niche market would enhance South Africa's reputation as a world class and globally competitive tourism destination.
The global cruise tourism industry has experienced significant growth over the last three decades, expanding from 1.4 million passenger carryings in 1980, to an estimated 15.4 million by 2009.
The minister said although tourism is an extremely tough and competitive sector, it is one that also has the capacity to create jobs. Therefore, government would commit more resources to this area for its development.
"We know tourism is an important driver of both domestic consumer spending and foreign exchange earnings," he said.
"It is underpinned by a sustainable resource base, labour intensive activities and relatively low barriers of entry for entrepreneurs. Tourism has now been prioritised as one of the cornerstones of growth in the economy."
Another opportunity to create employment will be through infrastructure. The minister said this was his first ever visit to a cruise vessel, therefore on arrival expected a more modern passenger terminal.
He said government would have to look into ways to better receive passengers, which could mean upgrading existing facilities, leading to work opportunities for people.
"In terms of the development of this sector, it is our responsibility as government to market destination South Africa, to ensure service excellence and facilitate the provision of infrastructure. The responsibility does not, however, rest with government alone," said van Schalkwyk.
He added that government would need the private sector to get on board and in this case, particularly the cruise line industry in support of South Africa's economic development goals.
Over the past two decades, tourism had emerged as a fast growing and valuable services sector in the country's economy.
The latest tourist arrival figures show that South Africa has continued to outperform competitors and that its tourism sector has proved resilient against fairly poor global economic conditions.
The figures for tourist arrivals show that from January to August this year, tourist arrivals were more than 5.2 million, which is an increase of 17.4 percent compared to the first eight months of 2009.
South Africa experienced growth from all the major market regions.
The study was conducted under the stewardship of a National Steering Committee, which represented all stakeholders in the field, including port cities and provinces, the Department of Public Enterprises, the National Ports Authority and Transnet.
"The [Tourism Department] will continue to engage with the industry as well as other government departments and entities on how to address constraints, facilitate passenger transit, encourage cruise passengers to visit port cities and the surrounding areas, and ultimately increase economic opportunities for communities in and around coastal cities," said van Schalkwyk.
The full report can be found on www.tourism.gov.za.
