With the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Film Authority (TAFA) now officially a reality, its Interim CEO, Sibusiso Gumbi, isupbeat about the contributions both the tourism and film sectors will bring to the economy of the province as he shares the strategy on how to position the province as a prime tourism destination.

Emphasising that tourism is a key growth sector in the South African economy, Gumbi highlighted that the challenge is to increase the current level of tourism to achieve the national objective of 21 million visitor arrivals by 2030.

“The KwaZulu-Natal TAFA plans to intensify its partnership with SA Tourism and the National Film & Video Foundation to guarantee that the province is prioritised for marketing as a film, business and leisure destination,” he said.

Gumbi highlighted that since the inception of the new entity in May, KZN TAFA has co-hosted and supported several high-profile events such as the Durban International Film Festival and Durban FilmMart. It has also hosted the Simon Sabela Film and Television Awards and the Dundee July – all of which have brought a much-needed economic boost to the province.

Increased spend

In 2022, of the total R59.6 billion in international tourist spend in the country, Gumbi said KZN had received R4.2bn, or around 7% of total spend.

“We aim to increase this spend by providing support to the development and transformation of the film industry and to promote a culture of service excellence that will pave the way for new experiences in the tourism sector. It's exciting times,” said Gumbi.

The current Film Tourism Strategy stated KZN was South Africa's fastest-growing film location, accounting for 12% of filming.

The merger would “improve institutional efficiency and aid marketing strategies for KZN” and open new doors for local film concept creation, packaging, distribution, and marketing, said Gumbi.

The KZN TAFA will continue in its pursuits to lobby for larger film productions into the province because of its warm winters. It may also pave the way for the province to use South Africa's co-production agreements with Canada, Italy, Germany, the UK, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland to attract more productions.

The Film Tourism Strategy used Gauteng and the Western Cape as case studies on which to kick-start KZN Tourism and Film Authority's approach.

“KZN has several competitive advantages in the audio-visual space, such as its unique locations and year-round brilliant weather that make our province the best place for film productions,” Gumbi said.

Interim KZN TAFA Chief Operations Officer, Jackie Motsepe, said efforts are being made to maintain and build sound relations and partnerships with all stakeholders.

“Above all we want KZN TAFA to deliver efficient and effective services and we want to do this through the use of technology and by raising our own revenue to supplement funding received from national government,” she said.

“It's going to be both stimulating and motivating as we do away with the old and usher in a new era,” said Motsepe.