Chairperson, hon Minister and hon Deputy Minister, hon members and guests from the department, the developmental state's responsibility to drive and manage the economy places tourism as a key pillar in the generation of growth and development. The tourism sector, in particular cultural and indigenous tourism, has an important role to play in contributing to the eradication of poverty, tackling unemployment and addressing inequality.
The strategic objectives of tourism should be the unlocking of the potential of cultural and indigenous tourism, and addressing the issue of geographic, seasonal and rural spread. This form of tourism has a special impact on rural development. Economic development in the rural areas is integrally linked with cultural and indigenous tourism growth, jobs and sustainable livelihoods.
The ongoing promotion of tourism development in rural areas is central to historical, heritage and cultural sites, as well as liberation struggle routes, being developed, all of which will benefit poor and rural communities. It is therefore encouraging that the department's Medium-Term Strategic Plan for the period 2012-16 identifies the development of niche products such as cultural heritage tourism as a priority.
The Minister of Tourism, hon Marthinus van Schalkwyk, launched the National Rural Tourism Strategy on 11 April 2012 and also unveiled Phase 3 of the Donkey Cart Project at Wupperthal in the Cederberg area. On that occasion, the Minister said:
Community beneficiation is at the heart of the National Rural Tourism Strategy. The strategy is aimed at developing rural tourism. This can greatly contribute to the alleviation of pressure in areas that are often characterised by poverty and underdevelopment.
This strategy illustrates the national Department of Tourism's commitment to the development of rural economies in general, and rural tourism in particular, which can contribute significantly to the improvement of the quality of life of the rural poor.
The main problematic areas hampering rural tourism development have been identified as the following: inadequate funding and resources for tourism in rural areas; a number of key rural tourist attractions are located in rural areas and are not receiving benefit stemming from the tourism industry; and the limited involvement of local communities serves as a major constraint in developing tourism in rural areas.
In order to address these challenges, the strategy inter alia aims to achieve the following: to facilitate the co-ordination of rural tourism development initiatives among relevant stakeholders; to create an enabling environment for rural tourism development to stimulate job creation; and to identify and recommend strategic areas for tourism development in rural areas within the sector.
In his 2012 state of the nation address President Jacob Zuma identified job creation as key to the alleviation of poverty and the eradication of unemployment. He also stated in an address to the Tourism Business Council in March 2009 that South Africa was faced with the challenges of growing and stabilising the economy, ensuring food security, creating sustainable jobs, and eradicating poverty. He said that the unprecedented socioeconomic benefits offered by tourism positioned it as a strategic industry for investment and business opportunities.
In the spirit of "together we can do more", the department and key stakeholders have to ensure that steps are taken to realise the development and transformation of this historically and culturally important component of the economy.
The department's four budget programmes have been changed from previous financial years. Domestic tourism is one of the three new programmes. The fact that one of the programmes will henceforth be dedicated specifically to domestic tourism, which encapsulates indigenous, rural, historical and cultural tourism, is a clear indication that more attention will be paid to the resources earmarked for tourism within our own borders.
Of the budget for 2012-13 and the following two years, 25% is allocated to tourism of this nature. As with tourism in general, the successful implementation of the Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy and the strategy for domestic cultural tourism will require substantial financial resources. However, the current domestic tourism budget is extremely limited and does not allow for the successful development of these sectors. Underspending on this key priority will undermine the aims of job creation, as spelled out by the President on various occasions. We have not yet fully realised the contribution of rural, cultural and indigenous tourism to the building of cohesive, caring and sustainable communities and national pride. By travelling at home, South Africans can contribute meaningfully to the tourism industry, its competitiveness and socioeconomic growth, as well as job creation.
We are very happy with the fact that we can see that the Minister is very busy launching rural tourism. Also, we can see that ...
... izinto ziyenzeka. Sinethemba kwaye sinqwenela ukubona abantu bethu bephuhliswa. Sifuna ukubona ukhenketho luziswa ekuhlaleni. I-ANC iyaluxhasa olu hlahlo lwabiwo-mali. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] [... things are happening. We have hope and we wish to see our people developing. We want to see tourism being brought to the communities. The ANC supports this budget vote. Thank you. [Applause.]]
THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TOURISM: Chairperson, the international arena in which we operate harbours countless challenges which, in various ways, constitute threats, but also opportunities for the creation of an environment conducive to the growth and development of tourism in South Africa. Nature's unpredictable changes, such as tsunamis and clouds of volcanic ash, have demonstrated in a graphic way how the tourism sector can be vulnerable to these phenomena. The persistent effects of the global financial crisis are dissipating far too slowly and this, with few exceptions, impacts negatively on tourist arrivals from our traditional source markets, particularly Europe. Fortunately, we in South Africa have benefited from the very positive branding and spin-offs in reputation from the successful hosting of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup.
The implementation of the first ever National Tourism Sector Strategy entailed the setting up of delivery mechanisms, including a monitoring and evaluation framework, the allocation of roles and responsibilities, and support for integration of this strategy at provincial and local government levels. The 2012-13 financial year will see the first annual report on the implementation of this strategy.
The success of all our strategies depends on the capacity to implement them. In this regard, local government was identified as the most critical link in the delivery chain for the growth and development of tourism. In recognition of its role, the department developed a Local Government Tourism Intervention, Support and Capacitation Programme, which aims to transfer the necessary skills in order to effectively support tourism planning and management at the level of officials across municipalities, thereby preventing serial job-hopping across the municipalities with limited capacity. It will create awareness of tourism for policy-makers to promote tourism-friendly policies, including municipal bylaws.
With Cabinet approval of the National Tourism Sector Strategy in March 2011, the department is focused on the development of plans to effect and support its implementation. These include the development of critical sectorwide frameworks, such as the Crisis Management Framework, Information Management Framework and Service Excellence Framework, and the National Minimum Standards for Responsible Tourism.
In regard to the Crisis Management Framework, the recent floods that affected parts of the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, particularly the iconic Kruger National Park, have demonstrated the vulnerability of our sector to natural disasters. The department has therefore put in place a Crisis Management Framework to enable the sector, working with disaster management authorities, to effectively respond to such incidents in order to minimise the impact and speed up recovery in the affected areas.
In regard to information management, the department has developed a National Visitor Information Framework. It provides for uniformity and standardisation across the information centres in regard to branding, operating hours and classification, in other words, whether it is government-owned, private or a gateway. During the 2012-13 financial year, we will establish two national tourism information gateways, one at O R Tambo International Airport and the other at the Beitbridge Border Post. These information gateways will serve as one-stop shops for tourism information for visitors on arrival and will provide information about the entire country, not just about their location. We will also establish a common brand for the visitor information centres across the country.
The National Tourism Database is one of the most important sources of information for consumers, investors, policy-makers, operators, etc. Our understanding is that it is in the best interest of the entire sector to continuously maintain the integrity of our database. We would like to commend the industry for its co-operation in our continuous efforts to maintain the database, and trust that such co-operation will continue into the future, as we collectively manage this asset. It is for this reason that I am convinced that the sector deserves a light regulatory approach in this regard.
The gazetting of the National Minimum Standards for Responsible Tourism has provided clarity on expectations regarding how the tourism sector can become responsible. During this financial year the department will work on an incentive framework to recognise good corporate citizenship.
During the 2011-12 financial year the Universal Accessibility Declaration was adopted by the sector. In the coming financial year, we will focus our efforts on ascertaining the state of universal access in the country and establishing frameworks for a universal accessibility-compliant town or city.
Let me turn to service excellence. The National Tourism Service Excellence Requirements, the first of their kind and developed through the South African Bureau of Standards as a national set of standards, were recently launched together with the Service Excellence Campaign. The national Department of Tourism approved this strategy in April 2010. It comprises five pillars: research and information; upskilling service delivery; public awareness; measuring and monitoring service standards; and consumer feedback systems. The aim of this five-pillared approach is to gradually introduce a service-orientated culture and to maintain it through various interventions, in collaboration with the various institutions within the sector. The requirements are also aimed at improving and maintaining service levels at all service touch points in the tourism value chain. They are also aimed at guiding the sector to achieve the National Tourism Sector Strategy's objective of positioning South Africa as one of the top 20 global tourism destinations.
I will just touch on two aspects of skills development. The first is the professionalisation of tourist guides. Tourist guides are among the first and last contact persons for tourists. All 11 200 of our tourist guides are brand ambassadors, proudly wear their badges and serve the country with distinction. The National Registrar of Tourist Guides must work with the tourist guide fraternity to restore the dignity of this important profession. We also recognise that tourist guiding is an ideal entry point into the sector, particularly for previously disadvantaged groups. That is why we will be pursuing a developmental approach to law enforcement and local community participation, particularly in areas that are rich in natural and historical resources. We shall also be creating awareness among consumers, product owners and aspirant tour guides to ensure that there is compliance with the law. Illegal guiding is not only a crime, but could also destroy our brand. It must be exposed and punished accordingly.
The second point I would like to touch on is the National Tourism Careers Expo, NTCE. This has been a very successful programme in the department and was hosted in Durban during the last financial year, with a record attendance of about 19 000 people. The programme was initiated in 2008, also as a response to the gaps identified in the 2007 Tourism Skills Audit. This is a forum where young people from high schools, Further Education and Training, FET, colleges and universities are exposed to the existing professional and career opportunities that exist in the tourism sphere. This intervention is also prudent in exposing the tourism industry to a host of skills that exist among the young people of this country, which the industry could harness and benefit from. The department has since facilitated its becoming an annual event, where interested and affected young people are exposed to industry opportunities. This year the NTCE will be held in East London, Eastern Cape, from 28 to 30 September. In conclusion, we are confident that this sector, which has been identified as being one of the key priority sectors of our economy, is ready to contribute to the development of an inclusive and transformed economy. The decision was taken that transformation, as one of the key determinants of economic development and growth in the sector, will be incorporated into the amended Tourism Bill, ensuring that macroeconomic policies of our country are incorporated.
I take this opportunity to thank the hon Minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, for his insight and leadership of the department. I also feel gratitude to the former ambassador, Director-General Kingsley Makhubela, and the management team and staff in the department for their hard work and dedication. To the board and CEO of SA Tourism - you are doing sterling work in promoting our country! Let me also give a thumbs up to the tourism industry players for their contribution to making Mzansi a tourist destination of choice. Keep up the good work! My final word of thanks goes to the chairperson and members of the portfolio committee for their commitment, co-operation and guidance. [Applause.]