The Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, has welcomed the launch of Phase Three of the Government-Business Partnership, which will expand its focus to tourism as one of the key sectors identified to drive inclusive economic growth, job creation and build confidence.
President Cyril Ramaphosa launched Phase Three of the partnership on Friday, with an immediate target of lifting economic growth above 3%, signalling a shift from stabilising and reforming the economy towards accelerating growth, investment and job creation.
Tourism, agriculture and agro-processing, and mining have been prioritised for their potential to attract investment, generate foreign revenue and create jobs on a large scale.
For tourism, the government has identified improved air access, faster and more modern visa processing, stronger destination marketing, enhanced tourist safety and increased investment in tourism infrastructure as key areas requiring attention.
De Lille said these priorities are closely aligned with the work already being undertaken through the Cabinet-endorsed Tourism Growth Partnership Plan (TGPP), which brings government and the private sector together around five priorities: ease of access, coordinated destination marketing, safety and security, tourism product development and job creation.
De Lille said the existing partnership had already identified the barriers limiting tourism growth and the interventions needed to address them.
“Operation Vulindlela now gives us an opportunity to bring greater momentum, coordination and accountability to this work as we continue to demonstrate that tourism policy is economic policy,” she said.
As part of the TGPP, a Project Management Office has been established and a dashboard introduced to measure progress against the sector’s macroeconomic targets and track implementation across its various workstreams.
The Department of Tourism said it would work with the Presidency, other government departments and the private sector to turn the priorities identified under Phase Three into measurable outcomes.
The focus comes as tourism continues to make a significant contribution to the South African economy.
According to Statistics South Africa’s Tourism Satellite Account, the tourism sector supported 954 000 direct jobs in 2024 and contributed 4.9% to the gross domestic product.
The sector’s contribution to the economy was higher than that of agriculture, utilities and construction, according to the department.
With tourism now formally included in the next phase of the government-business economic partnership, the sector is expected to play a more prominent role in efforts to boost investment, employment and economic growth. - SAnews.gov.za
