Chairperson, Minister of Tourism, Deputy Minister of Tourism, hon members, and ladies and gentlemen, we are humbled and honoured to be able to participate in the debate on the tourism Budget Vote, Vote 35 of 2012-13.
As many South Africans celebrate the existence of the mighty majority party, the ANC, credit should be given to all those who contributed positively, in one way or another, to the democratic freedom that all of us living in the country enjoy today.
The doors of opportunity and, ultimately, of prospects for more equitable growth for the people of South Africa have been opened through the transformation of tourism, which has arrived. Tourism is the people - that is what our Minister says. Allow me to add that tourism is heritage, tourism is landmarks and tourism is history that you can see and feel.
I am not too sure whether we should be worried about the key perception areas such as crime, underdeveloped rural areas and youth unemployment - which, in summary, are the areas the country seems to be worried about - if we can venture into tourism, which does not necessarily need specialised skills and capacity, without lowering standards. Whether it is linked to the lack of job opportunities or expected investment in those areas, I am not too sure.
Sukumani sakhe [get up and let's build] means doing things with our people, not doing things for our people. Our President's state of the nation address directed all departments to improve their turnaround time in paying service providers within 30 days - these are mainly black emerging service providers. Let us walk the talk in supporting emerging small tourism businesses.
We are encouraged that our government has placed rural development at the top of the agenda. A meaningful amount of money has been allocated for infrastructure development, which will change the state of the rural road, rail and information infrastructure drastically. This, in turn, will increase the numbers of international and domestic tourists visiting our mountains and historical nodes and sites.
Interdepartmental, intergovernmental and local government partnerships can improve tourism for the whole country - other members also alluded to this. On matters such as zoning and rezoning, local government bylaws should be geared to encouraging the growth of the hospitality industry, especially if we want to see meaningful transformation of tourism in this country. However, the Department of Tourism should remain the custodian of such a programme.
Not very long ago a European embassy held a workshop where they invited SA Tourism and the department to present our South African strategy, with a view to linking it with their office. Maybe we should look at expanding this gesture to other embassies. This will ensure that South Africa's international integrated tourism approach is realised. Collaboration and having integrated or joint calendars for domestic or international road shows will ensure that South Africa is a preferred destination.
We welcome the launch of the National Rural Tourism Strategy in the Cederberg Municipality by our hon Minister, which other members have captured very well in their speeches.
The department has performed quite well. However, we still have to pay attention to empowering the tourism sector financially, as well as to training and mentoring, to ensure change and the transformation of tourism in South Africa. Tourism incubators might be the route to take. The Tourism Enterprise Partnership has good intentions, but we seem to be receiving mixed feedback from the ground. Is it as effective as expected? Our learning institutions should be encouraged to embark on study tour programmes to increase the number of future domestic tourists who are proud of and rich in their appreciation of our country's historical nodes and sites.
Achieving a geographical balance in the use of conference space must be promoted and put into action by government, or championed by government departments in the first instance, in order to ease the burden of big cities which are congested with those programmes or activities.
Moving forward, would it be better if grants and loans were handled closely by the Department of Tourism to ensure faster transformation?
In January 2012 South Africa's results regarding tourism and migration indicated that the volume of arrivals had increased by 1,4% for the period December 2011 to January 2012. However, departure volumes had declined. From March 2011 to March 2012, there has again been a noticeable increase, namely 6%, in international arrivals - excluding domestic tourism, in other words. This is a good sign of value for money invested in international marketing by SA Tourism, notwithstanding the recession, which the Deputy Minister alluded to. Compared to other international countries, which have not managed to go above 3% on aggregate, this is a meaningful achievement for a developing country.
New partners bring new markets. Previously we have focused mainly on Europe and the USA. Currently, with our new Brics arrangement, we have gradually made greater inroads into Africa, which is one of the fastest growing areas in tourism. This will encourage and also change the face and the landscape of tourism in our country.
Transformation is embedded in the department's policy and strategy development framework, and it is the key point of my input today. I would like to pose a few questions to the House. Is there a monopoly in travel agencies? Who does travel packages? Should government not ring-fence tourism services to ensure transformation and impart experience and credibility to small emerging agencies? Should government encourage joint ventures between big and small tourism establishments? Should the twinning of well-established hotel industries with, in particular, bed and breakfast establishments owned by blacks be aggressively encouraged?
As the ANC we move once more that the budget be supported and approved.
Sihlalo, sengizohlala phansi, masizibongele ngethuba enisiphe lona ekuqinisekeni ukuthi kuba khona izinguquko ezibambekayo kwezokuvakasha nokungcebeleka kuleli lizwe laseNingizimu Afrika. [Chairperson, before I sit down, thank you for the opportunity given to us to ensure that there's considerable transformation in the tourism and entertainment industry in this country.]
Tourism is the people and transformation is about the changing the landscape of South African tourism.