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Cape Town - Greater collaboration between the private sector and SA Tourism is called for to increase SA’s global tourism market share, according to the latest SA Tourism Review.
This is one of the recommendations from a panel of experts appointed to review how SA Tourism is responding to the dynamics of the national and international tourism sector.
Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom said in due course he will engage the SA Tourism board on the process for implementing recommendations that will enhance SA Tourism’s initiatives to market South Africa as a prime tourist destination.
He said he is satisfied that the review panel, which included tourism, governance and marketing experts, has achieved its objectives and fulfilled its mandate.
"The panel’s recommendations will help the country to grow its competitive edge in the global tourism marketplace, and will also promote domestic tourism," said Hanekom.
Another key recommendation identified is the need to innovate and revitalise SA Tourism’s marketing campaigns to keep pace with a fast-changing marketplace. Marketing enhancements that are proposed include, amongst others, enhanced collaboration with Brand SA to collectively promote the country and a greater focus on domestic tourism.
The review found that a strengthened Department of Tourism is essential to facilitate effective inter-governmental coordination in support of tourism growth objectives.
Certain aspects of SA Tourism’s organisational development and design, including the country office model, are recommended for an in-depth review to enhance the effective delivery of the marketing mandate.
A new institutional home is proposed for the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa.
Greater resourcing of the research function and an increased focus on research insights, analytics and market intelligence is also recommended in the review.
"A fully optimised SA Tourism is essential for the transformation and sustainable growth of the sector, and for tourism to achieve the NDP target of creating 225 000 jobs by 2020," said Hanekom.
"It is critical that the tourism sector maintains and grows its global competitiveness, enabling tourism to continue making its overall contribution of 9.5% of the country’s GDP and supporting 10% of total employment."
He said he is confident that the expert advice provided by the panel will help the Department of Tourism to make the correct strategic decisions.
Read the full report here.
