Meaningful engagement and practical collaboration with all spheres of government is vital to address challenges and opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector.

This was one of the key messages from the Hospitality Industry Think Tank held last Friday, July 12, at the Maslow Hotel in Johannesburg.

Spearheaded by Dream Hotels & Resorts, the event provided a platform for industry leaders to discuss the barriers to growth and highlight opportunities for growth.

The first panel featured prominent voices in the industry and focused on collaboration with the government to bolster tourism as a significant economic driver.

The panel included Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the TBCSA, David Frost, CEO of SATSA, Rosemary Anderson, National Chairperson of FEDHASA, and Mokwena Morulane, Managing Director at Cresta Marakanelo.

Tshivhengwa emphasised the importance of strategic planning and efficient budget allocation in promoting South Africa as a top travel destination.

"We've got to be smart. We've got to choose where to play, and we've got to choose how to play because we've got to be smarter with the small budget that we have," he stated.

Tshivhengwa further highlighted the economic potential of tourism, advocating for increased government investment in marketing the country. "Our job from the TBCSA side is to advocate for money to be spent on marketing South Africa as a destination. The return on investment is far higher than in other industries that the government spends money on, and they have to look at tourism as an economic enabler," he explained.

Frost addressed the constraints posed by South Africa's visa processes on the tourism industry. He urged for a more flexible visa policy to attract longer stays and higher spending from tourists.

Frost particularly highlighted the foreign tourists known as “swallows”, who “follow the sun” and ideally seek to spend six months at a time in South Africa during the warmer months.

“That is something that we would like to engage our new Minister of Home Affairs on. Why not make it six months? They might stay longer and spend more money,” he suggested.

Frost also pointed out the significant impact of visa requirements on tourism from major markets such as India and China. “When we look at the two fastest outbound and the biggest markets in the world, namely India and China, they require visas [to get here]. Collectively, India and China made up 6% of our 2019 arrivals. It is the biggest blight on our tourism performance,” he said.

Case Study: Successful government collaboration

Anderson shared a compelling example of effective collaboration with government. She recounted the issue of an invasive aquatic weed, water lettuce, infesting the Vaal River. The weed spread rapidly, threatening the aquatic ecosystem and impacting numerous hospitality establishments along the river.

“Within a matter of a month or two, it covered a vast section of the Vaal River. We went to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and asked them what they would do. Fish are dying, aquatic life is dying, and birds are dying,” Anderson said.

In response, a multi-faceted approach was implemented, involving bio-control measures, physical removal, herbicide application, and curtaining off of affected areas. “This was done under the DWS’s watch. By the end of July, there will be no aquatic weed in the Vaal River system,” said Anderson.

The initiative demonstrated the power of collaborative efforts. Anderson detailed the successful negotiation with the DWS. “We pushed an agenda with the DWS where we got them to give Rand Water general authorisation, which involved how they could remediate the problem,” she explained.

Despite initially self-funding the project with over R10 million ($551 116), the success of the initiative led to further financial support from the government. “Now, because the DWS saw how successfully we did it, they have given us R10m for this coming year, another R12m ($661 339) for the second year, and R10m for the third year. That is working together. I sincerely believe that if you work with the government and show them that you want to be part of the solution, they come to the party,” Anderson said.