Staff Reporter
South Africa suffered a 72 percent drop in tourist volumes in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which saw both international and local travel coming to a complete standstill.
Tourism Deputy Minister Fish Mahlalela said this in an address at the Central University of Technology (CUT) Hotel School in Bloemfontein recently.
“Our numbers went down from 10.2 million in 2019 to 2.8 million in 2020,” said Mahlalela.
The provincial tourism department and the CUT hosted a Tourism Month Public Lecture last Friday.
The public lecture sought to promote transparent and open dialogue between government and its stakeholders in a bid to bring back stability to the sector under the “new normal”.
Mahlalela was joined by representatives from the tourism industry including product owners, academics, policy makers and practitioners.
South Africa’s theme for this year’s Tourism Month is “Tourism for Inclusive Growth – COVID-19 Recovery – Build Back Better”.
The Free State will host this year’s edition of the World Tourism Day celebrations in the picturesque town of Clarence on September 27.
Mahlalela said given the country’s high rate of unemployment, the tourism sector has been earmarked as one of the key sectors to drive South Africa’s economic recovery plan.
“Tourism is a people-orientated sector with people at the heart of its operations,” said the deputy minister.
“It is about people, products and places. The tourism industry is of great significance and potential to South Africa and is one of the six key identified for economic growth.
“This sector supports a vibrant and diverse value chain which experienced fundamental disruptions and is responsible for employment opportunities, geographic diversification and increased foreign currency receipts.
“The tourism sector is therefore a strategic development priority and a catalyst in growing other linked sectors.”
Before the pandemic, the tourism sector directly accounted for 2.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and 8.6 percent indirectly.
It also supported 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs.
The sector supports a vibrant and complex value chain and it generates foreign direct investment and significant export earnings.
Mahlalela said the Department of Tourism, working with various stakeholders, has developed the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan.
He said the plan is anchored on three interlinked pillars, namely: protecting and rejuvenating supply; reigniting demand; and strengthening enabling capability for long term sustainability.
“South Africa offers a wide array of authentic and breath-taking experiences and I believe that we have the potential to position tourism as a powerful catalyst to stimulate wide-scale economic activity, foster growth and generate earnings,” Mahlalela explained.
“Our focus should be on programmes that will lead to the buoyancy of the sector as well as drive transformation.
“We need to leverage on displaced regional and international markets, tap into new markets, develop new products, promote investments, build new partnerships and strengthen human capital.”
He said domestic tourism is showing signs of recovery and that since December 2020, trips have mostly stayed consistent.
The movement of light vehicles on South African roads, according to the deputy minister, is about 10-20 percent lower than in 2019.
Air travel, however, has seen a 60 percent reduction mainly due to international travel restrictions.
“We are determined to move forward with coordinated efforts to address triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality through job creation,” said Mahlalela.
“This work has been derailed by sluggish and slow economic growth.
“It is for this reason that we place tourism as a key strategic sector of the economy, with its resilience, at the centre of our country’s growth projections and development.
“Apart from generating revenue, tourism provides the economic opportunities, supports the development of SMMEs and has the potential to foster social cohesion.”