Chairperson, tourism's role in the growth of our economy and as a job creator has been totally underestimated, judging from the recent figures released by Statistics SA during April 2013. Minister, we have a lot to brag about; so excuse me for repeating some of these figures again. Figures show that visitors to our country since the staging of the Fifa World Cup tournament have been steadily increasing despite the doomsayers suggesting that it was a once-off event. It certainly placed us on the world map.
The number of visitors has grown steadily to the extent that we doubled the United Nations World Tourism Organisation's, UNWTO's, global average tourist growth figure of 4%. In real terms, this means that tourism is slowly becoming a major direct contributor to our gross domestic product, which shows growth of 5% from last year.
Due to its intrinsic link to job creation, the industry now employs about 600000 people. This is a remarkable achievement considering the world recession which affected many countries of the world during 2011-12. If our figures are correct, and I must say they do need refinement, then there is no doubt that we are moving into exciting times. However, we cannot take our tourism successes for granted. Although our growth in international tourism is the main driver of job creation, we have to increase domestic tourism in order to sustain these jobs over the long term.
To see a 10,2% increase in international tourism from 8,34 million to 9,2 million is no mean feat, considering also the small budget that the national Department of Tourism has to operate on and the current trends coming out of our nontraditional countries. The DA sees the countries of China, India, South America and our own continent of Africa as our biggest opportunity. And to cope with the potential upsurge, we need to get our ducks in a row. Some 100 million and 50 million people travelled from China and India respectively during 2011. With that in mind, it is little wonder that visitors to South Africa from the countries below increased so dramatically: China by 55,6%, India by 18,2%, Brazil by 44,7% and Africa as a whole by 8,5% between 2011 and 2012.
If we want a similar growth pattern in 2013-14, then there is no doubt that the Minister and his department will have to ensure that every cent of this marketing budget is optimised in order to tap into the potential tourist groups. However, international marketing, as you have mentioned, Minister, is an expensive business when one considers the devaluation of the rand against major currencies of the world. And this doesn't go far when office premises, staff salaries and all that goes with it are required.
I'm saying this knowing that if South African tourism offices just in Angola cost in excess of R10 million, then to set up an office in Europe, India or China could be at least double or more. We have over 100 missions and embassies abroad and a similar number of SA Airways, SAA, offices. There should be a request made to share these facilities wherever possible until more funds are possible.
SAA as the national carrier should also play its part in promoting South Africa as a destination. In so doing, it will get the bums in seats that every airline is looking for. A similar arrangement could also be made with the airlines that have shares or alliance agreements with SAA.
Furthermore, Minister, budgets transferred to provinces and local governments need to be thoroughly scrutinised in order to ensure that no duplications and wastage occur. I have mentioned this concern before and I will mention it again. Monies cannot flow into municipalities that don't have the necessary tourism directorates and that are not properly capacitated or are not seen to be part of the overall provincial package in terms of the offer on hand.
My oversight visits to these municipalities and provinces, particularly in the Eastern Cape, brought this issue to the fore. What I have experienced, and is often the case in the local media, is the continuous duplication of destination adverts and a large number of poor quality brochures, which do not only lack full and clear information, but are also often poorly edited, that are found at their tourist centres.
Minister, I would appeal to you and your relevant marketing directorates to involve yourselves in a more hands-on co-ordinating and guiding role in these problematic areas in order to avoid this waste of scarce resources. In the very same light, neither can you let your department spend scarce funds on artworks, cars or expensive furnishing for extravagant, so-called staff pause offices - we know about the inquiry that is taking place.
Our recently held tourist showcase, the Indaba, needs a relook. It appears as though it's losing its impact and is seeing a decline in the number of buyers attending every year. The costs for the exhibitors are also becoming exorbitant, with the provinces and local government taking up most of the space.
In my constituency, the Buffalo City Metro spent R430 000 on last year's Indaba with no visible benefit to the city. This is according to the local Chamber of Business. Their presence there was undertaken despite them having no effective front-of-house tourism office or strategy in place. I question how many other municipalities or provinces spent similar amounts with limited return.
Minister, quality assurance is one of your department's goals, and although the Tourism Bill will deal with this matter in a more formal way, there is still an urgent need to put in place the necessary checks and balances until this Act is finally assented to.
Tourist guides cannot operate illegally and must be both accredited and trained. In the DA-run Western Cape, the tourist department is constantly reining in these dodgy tourist guides and other provinces need to follow suit. We cannot let these illegal operators give the industry a bad name.
Also in the Western Cape, Wesgro's strategic focus on increasing tourist numbers to the significant beautiful diversity and splendour of the Western Cape province has made massive strides, with recent figures revealing a double-digit growth for many of the more famed destinations like Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch and Cape Point Nature Reserve - the latter showed an increase of 24%. It is no wonder, therefore, that President Zuma was quoted as saying, "God resides in Cape Town."
Overall though, I must mention that the province saw a decrease in the number of international arrivals through Cape Town International Airport as a direct result of SAA's direct flights to the United Kingdom, UK, being cancelled and the grounding of low-cost airlines, namely 1time and Velvet Sky. To this end, a dedicated engagement with airlines and charter companies is taking place to once more secure direct flights into Cape Town International Airport.
For your department to reach its goals, Minister, you must hold the cross- cut Ministries to account. We cannot have a situation like the one that occurred recently in Beijing, where embassies ran out of visa documents: We cannot have tourists' facilities closing down because of road access being a problem or not being properly maintained; neither can we afford to have bad media publicity because of the contravention of law and order or the safety of our tourists being threatened. We cannot have unscrupulous operators charging what they like at our parks, restaurants and for accommodation.
South Africa has a wonderful diversity of people, landscape and wildlife. And with the eight World Heritage Sites to our credit, we have all the opportunities and potential to make this country a sought-after and an affordable destiny of choice. We cannot let all these so-called challenges get in our way. It's in your hands, Minister, so let's make it happen.
Finally, to make sure that we become one of the world's top 20 tourism destinations by 2020, we strongly recommend that your department's budget be increased during the Medium-Term Review. Unfortunately I will not be part of that process next year, but I trust that the new portfolio committee in 2014 will make this happen, for without the extra funds your task will become more arduous. Thank you. [Applause.]