The intent and commitment are there for South African Tourism to “get it right” and, by fostering even stronger collaborative ties with the industry, the abundant opportunities to grow tourism in the country can be successfully leveraged for the benefit of all.

This was the key message from Nombulelo Guliwe, CEO of South African Tourism, speaking at the 2024 SATSA conference at the Arabella Hotel Golf and Spa in Kleinmond, Western Cape, earlier this month.

In the spirit of the “This is Us” conference theme focused on storytelling, Guliwe discarded her prepared speech and, as SATSA CEO David Frost observed, “spoke from the heart”. She acknowledged that South Africa, as a destination, is not competing on the global stage as it should.

“We cannot continue to market South Africa the way we are currently doing it. We need to adapt to the changing needs of travellers and speak to them on their level.

“And the only way we can do this is by working together. We know what the global opportunities are, we have mastered the art of identifying what is important for travellers within these opportunities and now we need to consider our part in the value chain and what we can collectively offer the traveller and highlight that.”

‘Partnerships are not merely MoUs’

Posing the question “How do we partner not just in theory but in reality?”, Guliwe noted partnerships are not merely memorandums of understanding (MoUs) but need to be sustained in a meaningful way.

This not only requires ongoing structured engagement with the industry – widely touted by Frost – but needs a “whole of government approach”, she added.

Guliwe pointed to the latest figures, released by Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille, showing that the tourism sector’s contribution to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2024 was 8,8%.

“We need to convince the powers that be that tourism is a major economic driver in this country,” Guliwe said, echoing De Lille’s announcement that the sector currently contributes more to GDP than transport, mining and agriculture and is nearly matching government’s contribution to GDP.

According to De Lille, the tourism sector’s contribution to GDP is expected to grow to 10,4% by 2030.

‘More to be done’

Joining Guliwe on stage, Frost expressed gratitude for the strides made in collaboration, adding, however, more is needed.

“It is critical that information on source market initiatives is shared more timeously. It will make it easier for the industry to participate and take advantage of the opportunities offered by these initiatives if they know of these 18 or even six months in advance instead of two weeks.”

Frost said the sold-out SATSA conference attracted 280 delegates. “I'm pleased to announce that we’ll be building upon this year’s format and exploring ways to make it even better next year. We learned a lot and we can’t wait to share our evolved vision with you in 2025.”