S. African gov't urged to further explore key int'l tourism markets

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) should find ways of enhancing its workforce in key international markets which have been identified as key growth areas for tourism for South Africa, Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs said.

View of the coastline from Chapman's Peak Drive toll road, which winds its way between Noordhoek and Hout Bay on the Atlantic Coast on the south-western tip of South Africa near Cape Town. [File photo: VCG]

The committee made the appeal as it conducted a four-day oversight visit program at the DHA's Head Office in Pretoria and its entities.

The committee heard that the DHA has only four officials in China, four in India and only three in Nigeria, committee chairperson Mosa Chabane said.

This low human resource base impacts negatively on the ability of the DHA to process visa applications for applicants in those countries with estimated high number of people wishing to visit South Africa, Chabane said.

The committee is aware of the financial constrains the DHA is facing, hence its call for urgent interaction with the Department of International Relations and the Department of Cooperation and the National Treasury to find ways of working around this challenge, said Chabane.

Tourism has been identified as a key pillar in President Cyril Ramaphosa's stimulus package intended to jumpstart the country's economy.

In his State of the Nation Address in February, Ramaphosa said he would like to see one million tourists from China to visit South Africa every year.

But due to strict visa restrictions, only about 50,000 Chinese tourists visit South Africa annually.

Last Friday, the government launched the Tourism Month to give impetus to the industry in times of poor economic performance.

Tourism Month is celebrated in the same month that the UN World Tourism Organization celebrates World Tourism Day, which falls on September 27 each year.

South Africa has the largest tourism economy in Africa, having indirectly contributed 1.5 million jobs (9.2 percent of South Africa's employment) and 425.8 billion rand (about 28 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, according to a World Travel & Tourism Council report released in March this year.

The report also indicated that the sector accounts for 8.6 percent of the country's GDP.

The government is trying to meet the target of creating 21 million jobs through tourism.

To achieve this target, the Tourism Department will continue to work closely with the DHA on visa facilitation to increase access to the country by tourists, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has said.