Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille believes South Africa can accelerate arrivals in the second half of the year to surpass the 10.7 million projected by economic analytics companyOxford Economics.
Speaking at a Tourism Economic Impact briefing in Sandton last week, De Lille urged industry associations and the private sector to work with the Department of Tourism and South African Tourism to address the sectors silo mentality.
I find, similar to relationships between government departments, there is a bit of a silo mentality that hinders the tourism value chain, she said. All the different sectors within the value chain are doing their own thing. We should be connecting the highest levels within tourism to SMMEs, community-based organisations and townships. We will then be able to truly diversify our tourism offering.
De Lille called for a deliberate and coordinated approach to destination marketing, pointing out the private sectors pivotal role in buoying SATourisms efforts to promote the country.
Government contributes at least R1 billion (537 400) towards tourism marketing every year and the private sector R30 billion (1.5 billion), she pointed out.
