South African Tourism, together with the wider tourism industry, gathered in Cape Town last week for the Global Advocacy Programme Stakeholder Forum, to kick-start the plan to drive the sector’s recovery.

The programme, an initiative started by South African Tourism, is about partnering and collaboration of strategic partners by removing barriers and creating a positive narrative about South Africa. 

This programme, which forms part of the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan, was initiated by the Department of Tourism, South African Tourism and the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, following protracted damaging narratives and misinformation reported globally about South Africa, particularly concerning COVID-19 strains.

“We got together to get our Tourism Sector Recovery Plan into action. The single biggest thing that needs to be done is to pull the tourism sector together. Action is paramount – not talk,” said SA Tourism Acting CEO, Themba Khumalo.

“We need to address the barrier issues that prevent domestic tourists from exploring their own country and, of course, those that discourage international tourists from choosing South Africa. For example, we know from our insights that ALL tourists (domestic and international) are looking for a welcoming and safe tourism experience.”

The Brave Group, a global agency that focuses on brand and campaign development, has been appointed as the partnering agency to execute the advocacy programme across key source markets over the next three years. It will be working with specialist agencies, MMGY Global and Africa Desk, to build positive brand affinity for South Africa with the international leisure travel and business community. 

Launching the programme in October last year, Minister of Tourism, Lindiwe Sisulu, said: “We are going to embark on a strategic, yet direct, approach to our markets to ensure that consumers, trade partners and the global media are truthfully informed about the memorable and affordable, easy accessibility and safety factors that come with travelling to South Africa in this COVID-19 environment.”

She said she and her department had learnt “quite a bit” over the last few weeks as they dealt with various missions and embassies by working behind the scenes to get South Africa off the red lists and travel advisories.

“It’s these learnings, along with contributions from the sector, that we will take into this important advocacy programme to lead the reshaping of the South African narrative to a positive and welcoming one and increase our arrivals from tourists, both for leisure and business events,” she explained.

SA Tourism Interim Board Chairperson, Advocate Mojanku Gumbi, highlighted the importance of domestic tourism. “In order to grow domestic tourism, we must have affordable and easily accessible tourism products and experiences. We also have to understand our country – with all its challenges. Security issues, for example, are directly linked to socio-economic challenges. So the solution is not a tourism solution, or even a policing solution, but a developmental challenge.”

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, said: "This forum sends the message that South Africa is open for business. Every country around the world is going to be competing for the same tourists. We need to be more aggressive. For far too many years we’ve talked about things; let’s give action to that.”

He added that, over the last two years, 470 000 jobs had been lost within the tourism sector. 

The Global Advocacy Programme Stakeholder Forum will convene again at the beginning of May as a precursor to Africa’s Travel Indaba, which will take place from May 2 to 5 in Durban.