With a Cabinet shuffle imminent, the CEO of South Africa’s fastest-growing hotel group has urged the incoming Minister of Tourism to “stop scoring own goals” and focus on the basic actions that can be taken to allow the tourism industry to thrive.  

“The Department of Tourism needs to stop scoring own goals, get the basics right and then get out the way so that we can do what we do well,” said Marc Wachsberger, CEO of The Capital Hotels and Apartments.

The country had expectations that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle would take place in the days following his State of the Nation Address on February 9. The imminent change of guard will likely include the replacement of Lindiwe Sisulu as Minister of Tourism. 

Wachsberger urged the incoming Minister to lead the Department of Tourism in reducing red tape, so that members of the tourism industry could be better capacitated to lead the sector’s growth.   

“As an industry, we know what we need to do to get this sector going. We have spent too long going back and forth with the Department, only for them to make unilateral decisions that we end up paying for. All we need are the basics. We are agile, innovative, and blessed with a beautiful product. We can do the rest.”

At the top of a short list of basics that needed to be addressed were tourist safety and e-Visas.

“There has been a significant post-COVID bounce back but the government continues to score own goals by spending money on anything other than the essentials, i.e., safety and security for visitors and e-Visas. If these problems can be resolved, we as an industry can get on with the business of showcasing the country in the best possible light,” said Wachsberger.

“The simple implementation of an e-Visa process, which has been discussed for years, and ensuring the safety of tourists during their travels will do much more to rejuvenate South Africa's tourism industry than other interventions the government has tried in the past.”

Wachsberger said that loadshedding was also a top priority, as the power outages were resulting in a rise of up to 35% in costs for large and small hoteliers across the country.

“Its effects are threatening to squeeze the life out of an industry that barely survived COVID-19. This status quo is unsustainable.”