Hanekom: Tourism vulnerable to real SA challenges

Source: Tourism Update, 21/03/2018

Cape Town - Tourism in South Africa - and in Cape Town specifically -
has been faced with many challenges but the economic opportunities
remain far from exhausted. This is according to trends shared during
Wesgro`s annual Global Economic Opportunities for the Cape 2018/19
event, held on Tuesday, 20 March ahead of the start of the new
financial year in April.
Also in attendance, was newly re-appointed Minister of Tourism, Derek
Hanekom who delivered the keynote address. Key issues raised related
to visas and ease of access for key source markets, diseases such as
listeriosis that might not directly affect the industry but
negatively impact perceptions of health and safety standards as well
as the ongoing drought in the Western Cape.
The current government focus on its land redistribution policy has
also impacted on investor as well as visitor confidence to the country
Emerging economies leading growth
Wesgro Senior Economist, Janine Botha presented research on the
trends, risks and opportunities for the year ahead, with Wesgro
setting out its plans for tourism, trade, investment and film
promotion for the year ahead.
Trends show the dominance of emerging markets when it comes to global
growth, with six of the 10 fastest growing economies being in Africa.
Wesgro`s Outward Foreign Investment plans aim to tap into this, says
Botha.
Growth trends mirror the movements across the travel and tourism
sector - with international tourism in Africa expected to grow
robustly, as some 62 million international travellers visited the
region in 2016, however with a nominal 2% growth to South Africa.
There has been an estimated increase of 20% in international visitors
to the Western Cape, bucking the initial concern about the drought
crisis impact according Wesgro.
The forward picture however was not as rosy, with some 18 businesses
surveyed indicating a R90m loss in revenue due to the perceptions of
Day Zero.
Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris says, “We will look to take advantage of the
global opportunities to benefit local companies with the objective of
growing the Cape`s economy and creating jobs.
`Cape Town has positioned itself as a pioneer in addressing water
scarcity and we must continue to build a climate change resilient
destination that the rest of the world can aspire to emulate. We are
open for business and our team is ready to assist you in investing in
the Cape.`
In his address Hanekom revealed that preliminary figures for January
2017 show the United Kingdom, one of SA`s top five source markets
remained stagnant compared to January, with China - one of the
world`s fastest growing tourism markets - seeing a 50% drop in
numbers to South Africa for the same period.
For the year ahead Wesgro plans to focus on Halaal exports and
tourism, doubling down on the successful direct route access
initiative which has secured in excess of 800k seat capacity for the
city since it started in 2015. Cape Town Air Access is not only
attributed for driving tourism but also exports, says Wesgro with an
estimated 30% growth in cargo at Cape Town Internal.
Top of the agenda is the need to ensure tourist-centric experiences
are tailored for core growth markets - with particular concern for
China as noted by Hanekom.
Key tourism opportunities for Western Cape outlined for the year
ahead include prioritizing Asia by providing incentive travel for
these key markets; growing its strategy for wine exports into Asia
and Angola as well as niche tourism experiences - these include the
creation of a specific routes and experiences in relation to cycling,
cultural, food & wine.
Hanekom remains adamant that key to turning the picture around is
collaborative messaging across the sector, focusing on South Africa`s
unique tourism offering which is people-focused, as well as making it
easy to travel here.
Overall, he says the `industry must ensure the benefits accrue to as
many people as possible, ” referencing President Cyril Ramaphosa`s
SONA18 update, which aims to have the industry double the estimated
700k jobs created by the industry.
Hanekom says a meeting is set with Department of Home Affairs, to
specifically look at the ease of travel issues facing the industry
and how this can be addressed.
Ensuring improved visa requirements falls squarely on me - Hanekom to
tackle SA`s sticky visa challenges
In response to Minister Hanekom’s focus on making it easier for
tourists to access South Africa , Minister Winde says, “We welcome
the opportunity to have a frank discussion with Minister Hanekom
about ways to grow our important industry. I am pleased that he has
said that he will be engaging with the Department of Home Affairs
around the visa issues that have plagued tourism in recent years.
`I am also pleased that he shares our concerns for tourist safety on
our mountain trails and hope that our departments can work together
to put a solution on the table that helps ease the minds of our
visitors and mountain users so that they feel safe while enjoying our
exceptional natural surroundings.”