TOURISM NEWS Capetonian elected to leadership of global body for sustainable tourism Capetonian Heidi van der Watt, founding member of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism – South Africa, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). The GSTC is aimed at harnessing the power of tourism to grow local economies in ways that have more local people sharing in the economic benefits of tourism, and to better take care of natural resources, local people and cultures of destinations. The mandate of the GSTC ties in with the City of Cape Town’s sustained Responsible Tourism initiatives. Defined as ‘tourism that creates better places for people to live and better places to visit’, Responsible Tourism focuses on involving local people in decisions that affect their lives. This minimises the negative economic, environmental and social impacts of tourism, and encourages respect between tourists and hosts. “We understand that for Cape Town to be a great place to visit, it must first be a great place to live in. Fortunately, Cape Town has a good cluster of tourism businesses doing exemplary work for people, planet and profit. I would really like to put the sustainability stories of individual tourism businesses in our city on the world stage,” said van der Watt. “The election of Ms. van der Watt is great news for Cape Town. It is further proof of Cape Town’s leadership with regards to responsible and sustainability-focused tourism. Not to speak of incredible access to information, know-how and global marketing channels,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Mar-
keting, Councillor Grant Pascoe. Source: SA - the Good News
SA tourism looks to emerging markets South Africa’s tourism sector is looking to emerging markets to boost arrivals and drive growth, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said at the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macau, China on Monday. The sector will focus specifically on attracting visitors from its BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China) partners as traditional tourism markets are still suffering the backlash of the global economic crisis. “While Europe stagnates, we in the emergingmarket economies are boosting global tourism flows and outbound spend,” Van Schalkwyk said, “By 2015, the emerging economies are expected to account for 40% of all global departures.” It is predicted that in the next decade, emergingmarket economies will contribute more to global economic growth than developed economies. “This global re-balancing, together with the spread of low-cost airlines, air space liberalisation, the removal of visa requirements and the growing popularity of online bookings, underscores that the extensive BRICS cooperation and partnership on travel and tourism among not only businesses but also governments offers boundless opportunities,” he said. South Africa’s tourism sector contributes 9% to the country’s gross domestic product, with 12-million international arrivals annually. Van Schalkwyk announced that it is the government’s goal to increase this number to 15-million by 2020. “The
new growth will depend heavily on our marketing investment in China, Brazil and India.” China, in particular, represents a growing market for South Africa, with double-digit growth in tourist arrivals in 2011. “When the tourism industry talks about emerging destinations and source markets, Africa is often ignored,” Van Schalkwyk said, “As a destination, the splendour of [the] continent’s natural riches and the warmth of [the] people create many truly unique experiences.” Source: SAinfo reporter
South africans encouraged to take a break South Africa’s National Tourism Month was officially launched this morning at the Getaway Show by Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk. At the Tourism Month 2012 that was launched at The Getaway Show in Johannesburg the message from Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk is clear – South Africans must be encouraged to travel their own country to get a better understanding of the incredible (and affordable) experiences on their doorstep. Van Schalkwyk pointed out that domestic tourism is a major driver of South Africa’s economic growth and contributed R20,2-billion to the national economy last year. ‘When domestic tourism grows, we create a nation of tourism ambassadors who are knowledgeable and speak positively about our destination, who warmly welcome foreign tourists, and are helpful when they meet visitors. Well-travelled locals can easily and confidently recommend to both foreign tourists and fellow South Africans the best places to visit in South Africa for the best local experiences,’ he said. At the launch, the minister announced the release of nearly 2,5-million special offers available to the South African public during September – aimed at making local holidays affordable and accessible. ThulaniNzima, CEO of South African Tourism, is thrilled at the variety of the special offer travel vouchers available to South Africans and said the industry had certainly come to the party in terms of giving substantial discounts on attractions and activities during Tourism Month. In an interview with a local radio station, Nzima said: ‘It’s very important that we encourage South Africans to travel South Africa like tourists in their own country. It is also important that we extend the very same experiences that millions who come to South Africa for, year in and year out. We want to show that South Africa is affordable for them to go to on holiday without having to take a plane and go elsewhere.’
Vaya Mzansi
20 / Hello Cape Town
An additional 4 400 vouchers will be distributed on South African Tourism’s VayaMzansi Facebook page, www.facebook.com/vayamzansi, as part of the organisation’s “VayaMzansi, It’s Here” domestic tourism campaign. Source: South Africa Tourism