The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) outlined measures required to position the sector as a key driver of economic growth and job creation to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Tourism this week. The organisation is targeting 15.7 million international tourists and 12 million domestic trips annually by 2030.

TBCSA Chairperson Jerry Mabena told the committee that reaching these targets would have a significant economic impact on the country by creating 1.3 million new jobs and 400 000 opportunities for young people. This would also raise the sector’s GDP contribution from R209 billion (€10.9 billion) to R394 billion (€20.7 billion).

Mabena outlined 10 interventions that would help drive this growth:

1. Modernisation of e-visas to deliver a “fully automated, world-class e-visa with improved airport infrastructure”.
2. Increasing the number of countries with a visa waiver.
3. Improving access to critical skills and temporary work visas to take advantage of “trends in the global travel market such as people working remotely”.
4. “Reducing bureaucracy in terms of some of the licensing issues such as tour guide and liquor licences”.
5. Improving safety for travellers.
6. Developing strategies to make the country more appealing to lucrative key markets such as China.
7. Increasing marketing budget allocations for organisations like SA Tourism.
8. Encouraging public-private partnerships.
9. Improving air access to increase the number of flights and to make air travel more affordable.
10. Introducing attractive investment incentives to build more tourism products.

Mabena said: “When we have visitors, what we’ve learned is that they get excited and want to come back again but we don’t want them to come back and do the same things.”

TBCSA CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said of the targets: “It’s huge but, if we reach it, we will create jobs, we will impact the economy and we will ensure that young people around the country in rural and urban areas are able to access tourism and jobs.”

He also highlighted the importance of a collaborative approach to ensure the sustainability of the sector.

“For tourism businesses to be sustainable, we need to market South Africa as the preferred destination and get as many people as possible to visit.”

Committee Chairperson Lungi Mnganga-Gcabashe raised the issue of the Tourism Marketing of South Africa levy administered by the TBCSA. She urged the organisation to ensure all private-sector members contribute and called for “accountability measures” to be taken against members who do not contribute.

Mnganga-Gcabashe said the committee wants to build a collaborative relationship with the TBCSA. She asked for the committee to be alerted about all issues that the private sector would like to be presented to the Minister of Tourism.

“The TBCSA should also alert the committee about all intersectional issues that should be brought to the attention of the Cabinet to remove barriers to tourism.”