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PREPARING SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD |
Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the former leader of the New National Party, serves as Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. He is actively involved in assisting the Cabinet with preparations for the 2010 World Cup. Project 2010 asked him…  The dispute between SA Tourism and MATCH seems to have caught everyone off guard. Obviously it's a delicate issue, but what can be done to resolve the problem? I have resolved to facilitate talks between SA Tourism and MATCH. I would like to reiterate that South Africa has 100 000 graded rooms available on its database for 2010, which is more than enough to fulfil the MATCH-requirement of 55 000 graded rooms. South Africa as a destination has just under 100,000 graded rooms and the Tourism Grading Council additionally grades in the region of 150 establishments a month. There will be ample accommodation in and around the major host match cities for both the Championship in 2010 and the Confederations Cup next year. Our tourism industry is ready for 2010 and all role-players are committed to ensuring that visitors enjoy an exceptional experience in South Africa. With just 20 months remaining before the World Cup, there seems to be a great deal of apprehension - particularly among accommodation owners - about what's in it for them in, particularly in terms of financial benefits. What can be done to allay their concerns? We have seen to it that, for the first time ever, graded non-hotel accommodation is included in the planning of an event of this magnitude. We recognise the very important contribution of small and medium sized enterprises to our tourism industry. In the fifteen years since the advent of democracy in South Africa, tourism's contribution to the economy has almost doubled from 4,6% in 1993 to 8.3% in 2007, which has an actual Rand value of R60.1 billion. Approximately 7.5 percent of all jobs in South Africa exist either indirectly or directly because of the tourism sector. On a brighter note, you have just announced that there has been an extraordinary increase in the number of foreign visitors ahead of the World Cup. Are all the relevant role-players coping with this influx? The latest available figures show that South Africa saw a total of more than 6.2 million foreign arrivals in the first eight months of this year, compared to almost 5.9 million in 2007. This is an increase of 6.1% year on year. We did, however, see a slowdown in growth from the beginning of the year and our total arrivals in August 2008 declined by 4.6% compared to August 2007. Despite the slower growth and the global economic downturn, we are still doing better than many other markets in the world and we remain cautiously optimistic. We will continue with our planned initiatives, including an aggressive international marketing campaign. It is estimated that the World Cup will contribute about R50 billion to the economy from construction investment alone. A further estimated R15.6 billion will be generated by tourism. According to SATSA, hotel developments and resorts with an estimated total investment of R20 billion are being planned across the country in the run-up to 2010. This creates jobs and imparts skills to a host of sectors. We are confident that our investments will pay off and that we will be ready for 2010 and the Confederations Cup in 2009. There seems to be a fair amount of uncertainty about the role neighbouring states will play in 2010. Obviously you are in regular contact with your SADC counterparts. Can you shed some light on this? Southern Africa is able to share the benefits of staging 2010 with our regional neighbours. Our hosting of the event has the potential to introduce the region to hundreds of thousands of visitors and open up an array of new holiday experiences and routes. Our transfrontier conservation strategy will help share benefits between South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We hosted a Transfrontier Conservation Area Investor Conference in Johannesburg last month where we raised awareness of the region's significant investment potential and marketed a portfolio of unique, packaged tourism investment opportunities in TFCAs to interested organisations and individuals. The nine (SADC) countries which are part of the initiative have therefore been working together to build a pipeline of bankable projects and embark on joint investment promotion efforts. more interviews... |
