Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, our invited guests, the 8 January 2013 statement mentions that the goals of economic transformation, growth and development require decisive action to thoroughly and urgently transform the economic patterns of the present situation in order to realise South Africa's vision for the future. I must say that ...
... isitatimende sikaKhongolose sangoMasingana 8 yiso esilawula ukuthi kulo nyaka oNgqongqoshe baseNingizimu Afrika abathunywe ngabantu ukuba bahole leli zwe kuyini okufanele bagxile kukho. Njengoba nezikhulumi ezikhulumile ngaphambili ezihlezi ngapha ngasesandleni sami sokunxele zivumelana nathi, lokho kusho ukuthi sibambe ngakho. Masibonge. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... the ANC's statement of 8 January serves as a guideline on what the Ministers, who are delegated by the people to lead this country, are expected to focus on. The speakers who spoke before me, who are seated on my left, also agree with us, which means we are on the right track. Thank you.]
To eliminate poverty, ensure a sustainable increase in employment and reduce inequality, the economy must grow faster and in ways that benefit all South Africans - rural, urban and in townships. The ANC-led government endorsed policy frameworks and programmes to drive the initiative forward, which include the National Development Plan, NDP, and the New Growth Path, NGP, that identify tourism as one of the job drivers. I would like to express our revolutionary appreciation for work well done, once again, by the hon Minister and Deputy Minister, supported by a capable administration and the ANC, together with our fellow South Africans.
The growth trend indicates that there were more tourists from outside the African continent, as the previous speakers had alluded to. Europe remains the highest source of overseas tourists to South Africa. The strongest growth was recorded from Asia with up to 33,7%, driven by the growth from China and India. Central America and South America recorded 37,0% with most of the growth coming from Brazil. We all agree on the percentages because they are scientific statistics.
When our hon President, his Excellency Jacob Zuma, released the tourism statistics for 2012 on 25 April 2013, he said, and I quote:
The Brics summit held in Durban last month highlighted the economic potential that our affiliation with this bloc has for South Africa, and the tourism industry is no exception. Tourist arrivals from the Brics countries accounted for 330 834 of our international tourist numbers in 2012 and the potential for further growth is huge. Greater collaboration at all levels will no doubt go a long way in making South Africa a more accessible destination for visitors from these markets and ensuring that these countries continue to fuel our industry's success going forward.
Regional Africa remains the pillar of our tourism economy and we are happy to see that arrivals from the region have maintained the solid growth path we have become accustomed to. Africa's importance to our tourism industry will continue to grow, as African economies are amongst the best performing economies in the world at the moment.
This clearly indicates that regional tourism growth is really important and must be facilitated. We therefore need to understand the context within which regional tourism is taking place. The tourism industry experts indicate that modern tourists are more environmentally conscious and discerning on the type of tourism packages they purchase.
There is also heightened awareness about the carbon footprint from aviation, with tourism being the main reason for travelling. It is therefore envisaged that growth will come from source countries within a four-hour flight radius. South Africa is a long-haul destination and most international tourists who visit the country come from outside the four- hour flight radius. It is therefore incumbent upon the Department of Tourism - which has already started to respond to this - and SA Tourism to attract more visitors from the African continent as most of these are within the four-hour radius. And we are happy to say that they are already doing that, as I alluded to earlier on. As government, we appreciate this.
The growth trajectory in international tourism has compelled the Department of Tourism to establish a branch that deals specifically with international tourism management. Previous speakers have already alluded to this. There will also be 126 missions supported, which will include the business planning model for institutionalising tourism as our hon Deputy Minister said.
It has been reported that the department will also be looking at developing some policy positions to enhance tourism competitiveness. Consultation with other sector departments such as the Department of Home Affairs will, more importantly, explore possibilities of e-visas and other strategic destination competitiveness measures.
A concern has been raised about the number of co-ordination missions that different sectors have with foreign countries. It is therefore imperative for the Department of Tourism to work closely with other sector departments such as the Department of International Relations and Co-operation to co- ordinate all these missions that we have signed.
In strengthening regional Africa and international collaboration and partnership, there will be a number of bilateral and multilateral engagements with targeted countries. These bilateral and multilateral engagements will be conducted to negotiate and facilitate the implementation of international agreements related to tourism and to facilitate participation in multilateral fora. These will include, amongst others, participation in the World Tourism Organisation structures and the World Travel and Tourism Council.
However, I must say that caution must be exercised with bilateral and multilateral agreements to ensure proper follow-ups on the implementation of the signed agreements, that should be aligned to the agreed signed papers.
It will be wrong for us not to acknowledge and say in this House that local government, as other speakers have said, is one of the beneficiaries of tourism through regional and international conferences or events. It will encourage municipalities to include tourism as key in their integrated development plans, spatial planning and budgets, as hon Khoarai indicated. If at local government level we do not plan and budget accordingly, we will not be able to respond positively to tourism as we expect.
Let me also say that in the 2013 Tourism Indaba, which closes today, Mama Lolo's Guest House in Soweto largely attracted international visitors. This bears testimony that the township hospitality industry does have room for changing the tourism landscape of our country.
Ngalokhu engikushoyo lana, abavakashi abaphuma kwamanye amazwe abafisi ukuthi uma befika la, besuka eYurophu noma kwelaseNdiya bafike babone elinye izwe laseNdiya noma laseYurophu. Yingakho ngifisa ukusho ukuthi kubalulekile ukuthi sibambisane nabaholi bendabuko nabezenkolo zalapha eNingizimu Afrika ukuze sibalekelele ukuqinisekisa ukuthi izindawo zabo zihlala zigcinekile futhi ziseqophelweni eliphezulu ukuze abavakashi bakwazi ukuza kuzona nathi siziqhenye ngazo. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[What I am saying here is that tourists from other countries, that is Europe or India, do not want to find another Europe or India when they visit here. This is the reason I wish to say that it is imperative that we work with traditional and religious leaders of South Africa in ensuring that their areas are always well maintained and up to standard so that tourists may visit these areas and we can be proud of it.]
The next question is: How do we focus these energies towards, as Mrs Makasi has said, rural urban tourism nodes, small African food outlets, the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWPs, South Africa as a preferred honeymoon destination and the internationally preferred place for production sites in the filming industry?
Some of the Metros have twinned with international cities that also seek to boost international tourism in general in our country. In line with rural development, traditional leaders ...
... sengikushilo lokho singadlula kukho. Omunye umbuzo okumele sizibuze wona ukuthi yini le ehlukile okumele siyenze ukuqinisekisa ukuthi izindawo ezingamagugu esizwe sonkana zihlala ziseqopheleni elamukelekile nesingaziqhenya ngalo, ukuze sikwazi ukuhehela izivakashi eNingizimu Afrika? Yilapho-ke siwuKhongolose sithi, sisonke singenza okuningi ekuthuthukiseni imiphakathi yethu senze umehluko ezimpilweni zemiphakathi yethu. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... I have mentioned that; we can move on. Another question that we should ask ourselves is: What is it that we should do differently to ensure that our heritage sites are maintained at an acceptable standard that we can be proud of in order to attract tourists to South Africa? That is where, as the ANC, we say "together we can do more" in developing our communities and in making a difference in our people's lives.]
The growth of international tourism is positive and all of us in the country need to show a united front when we try to attract new international markets. Our media must also tell positive stories about South Africa and not only bombard the world with negative information. By no means am I saying they should not report that, but they must also remember that positive reporting will assist us in appreciating, growing and protecting South Africa as a brand. Thank you, hon Chairperson. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]