The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Tokozile Xasa, may strike you as a soft spoken and unassuming woman at first glance, but once she gets going about the tourism industry, one she holds close to her heart, the passion she has for her work undeniably shines through.
With the 2010 FIFA World Cup still fresh on the minds of many, Xasa reminisces about the work done by the tourism industry. The month-long tournament not only boosted international and domestic arrivals, but the country's unity and hospitality left a lasting mark on the minds of many who descended on its shores.
The Tourism Department recently released statistics from a survey that showed that more than 95 percent of the people who came to the country for the tournament said they will visit the country again.
More than 309 000 tourists arrived in South Africa between June and July for the primary purpose of attending the World Cup and contributed about R3.6 billion to the domestic economy through spending.
"South Africa is one destination that sets its standards high; it is a world class destination. We don't compromise," Xasa told BuaNews.
"We want to grow the contribution that we bring to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from eight percent. We want to contribute double digits moving forward. That means we need to grow what we have and sustain it whilst developing more in order to expand the products that we already have so that we can have more products for people to experience within our country," she says.
The department recently launched a report on cruise tourism in South Africa. The report indicates 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.
According to the deputy minister, the department recognised cruise tourism as a niche market that could be developed and strengthened in the country.
"South Africans currently use cruise ships as tourists," she says, adding that the department saw the growing numbers of people using these ships and realised the potential in a market that South Africa had not explored.
"As we further develop the strategy, we are also looking at how cruise tourism could bring tourists into the country. We are looking at tourism contributing to economic growth, therefore being able to create decent jobs and also ownership for South Africans," she explains.
Several niche markets have been identified by the department, says Xasa. They will form part of the growth and development of the tourism industry in South Africa. They are also partly responsible for driving tourism in many parts of the world.
"We are exploring various avenues to ensure that South Africa becomes globally competitive as a destination. We've had the exposure of hosting a large number of visitors and through that experience, we learnt about tourist behaviour and in developing these niche markets, we were guided and informed by them and on what their needs are as consumers."
The niche markets include sport, cultural and heritage, rural, cruise and medical/health tourism.
"High on the list of our priorities is cultural and heritage tourism and rural tourism," explains the deputy minister. "Cultural and Heritage tourism is one other new way to promote and develop domestic tourism. It means that we will need to get into our communities and create opportunities and platforms for participation for ownership and develop and improve the products that are already there," she adds.
The infrastructure that will be developed in those areas, in efforts to boost tourism in far-flung areas, will benefit those who participate directly in tourism and the communities based in those areas that have been left out of the industry she says.
"There is a lot of richness that has not been explored in our rural areas. So we want to bridge that gap that has existed for so many years.
"We have also been working with provinces to encourage them not to market one in the same thing; to bring out their uniqueness so that they are able to package a chain of products that will attract tourists, who will then move into those 'less visited' provinces and experience the richness that we have."
Turning to transformation in the sector, Xasa explains that while it has moved at a snail's pace, measures are being taken in efforts to address this. A study has been commissioned by the department to measure the transformation that has taken place thus far in the sector. It will also look at the involvement and empowerment of women within the sector.
"We recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tourism Business Council of South Africa. This MoU seeks to look into how we can facilitate the transformation of the sector, which will open opportunities for empowerment for previously marginalised communities.
"We do have women participating in the industry, but generally at lower levels. Within the industry, you start from the lowest level and you can improve and grow to the highest level, but not necessarily at ownership level. Women have been trained and have what it takes, but they can't climb that last step on the ladder. We hope to share the results of the study by February next year," she says.
The New Growth Path (NGP) set a target of creating five million jobs in the next 10 years. This target is projected to reduce unemployment from 25 percent to 15 percent. The target set for the tourism sector in the NGP strategy is to create 225 000 new jobs by 2015.
According to the deputy minister, in pursuit of job creation, the department hopes to increase the number of foreign and domestic arrivals and to increase investments in tourism.
"It's going to be quite an uphill [battle]," she says. "But we're putting together measures such as a strong information and knowledge management system to inform our decisions, and we also want to promote people development and decent work principles within the sector. People development is also at the centre of what we want to do and issues of transformation. We hope that through these, more job opportunities will be created."
The department has also initiated programmes such as the Ritz Carlton International Exchange Programme and chefs training to address skills shortages in the country. The programmes also aim to reduce the unemployment rate.
"The expected impact on the economy is that the programmes will contribute to sustainable economic growth and generate the sustainable employment opportunities that we are looking for. At the same time, we are not building them for local industries, but we are creating an international network of excellence," she says.
