Xenophobic violence deals significant blow to South Africa: minister

Recent xeonophobic violence has dealt a significant blow to South Africa, damaging the country's brand and standing in the family of nations, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said on Friday.

South Africans must resist the lie that is starting to take root in the public discourse that seeks to suggest that they are xenophobic, or afrophobic, Kubayi-Ngubane said at an event in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal Province to mark the World Tourism Day which falls on September 27.

A woman sings as she holds a banner during a civil society groups march against the recent rise of xenophobic attacks in South Africa, on September 14, 2019, in Johannesburg’s Central Business District. [Photo: AFP]

"The perpetuation of this lie, sometimes through our own media and through the distribution of fake videos of violence against migrants has dealt a significant blow in our country's brand and our standing in the family of nations," said Kubayi-Ngubane.

As South Africans celebrated the World Tourism Day, they must remember the historic injustices of the past that led to majority of South Africans not enjoying traveling their own country, said the minister.

South Africa has been hit by a new spate of xenophobic violence in recent weeks, during which at least 12 people -- both foreigners and South Africans -- were killed.

Since the discovery of gold mining in what is today Johannesburg, African migrants who came to work in the mines settled and made South Africa their permanent home, the minister said.

This migration pattern has continued unabated since then and South Africans have lived peacefully together with other Africans for many years, she said.

"The lie that South Africans have suddenly developed hatred for other Africans cannot be sustained," said Kubayi-Ngubane.

Recent trends have shown that the number of international arrivals to South Africa has been on the decline, she said.

This development poses a great danger to the survival of the South African businesses and job opportunities and ultimately the economy, she warned.

"This decline of tourist arrivals in our country is happening at a time when the number of tourists are increasing globally. This means that tourists are choosing other tourist destinations other than our country," Kubayi-Ngubane said.

If tourists don't feel welcome in South Africa, they will go elsewhere, she said.

"We need to work together to ensure that tourists that come to our country feel safe to enjoy their holiday and take away memorable experiences," said the minister.

She urged South Africans to make a concerted effort to continually increase the levels of hospitality and friendliness, and the general level of service.

Tourism is one of the sectors that has the highest potential to absorb both skilled and unskilled people ranging from tour guides who can enter the sector without a matric certificate to hotel managers, Kubayi-Ngubane said.

"The only way that we will be able to create jobs in the tourism sector is by increasing the number of tourists in our country both domestic and international," she said.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has made an ambitious target of increasing the number of tourist arrivals to 21 million by 2030.

"We believe that our country has all the necessary tourism elements to achieve this target," said Kubayi-Ngubane.