One of the most pressing of these challenges is clearly the need for the highest levels of tourism safety and security in the Western Cape. We are fortunate that South Africa has earned the reputation as a relatively safe and stable international tourism destination - now is the time for us to build on this solid foundation to ensure that we continue to attract rising numbers of visitors for decades to come. As with almost every aspect of tourism and marketing, the key to this continued growth lies both in concrete action and in shaping perceptions. That is why this Tourism Safety and Security Conference is so significant - bringing together regional, national and international delegates to help us design the best programs and infrastructure to address the reality of tourism safety, as well as the concerns of our domestic and international visitors.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our Western Cape Tourism Safety and Security Forum, our MEC for Tourism and Gambling, Minister Joyce Witbooi and her Department, as well as the City of Cape Town for having taken the initiative to host this conference - the first of its kind. The internationally accepted tourism safety plan which we already have in place features a number of existing measures like our victim support programme; our crisis communication plan, and our tourism safety management plan - but clearly we can and must do more. One of the serious gaps in our present safety plan is the need for the most current statistics on crime against tourists. To date we have relied on partners like the University of Cape Town for research about perceptions but there is a real need to address the issue of a sound, up-to-date database. I trust that this will be one of the issues which will be highlighted and discussed over the next two days.
In addition to the issue of direct tourism safety and security, another important challenge facing our tourism industry is that local communities have often been marginalised by mass-tourism initiatives - making it difficult to spread a sense of co-ownership of the industry. We need to play a much more active role in ensuring that the benefits of tourism are really felt where they are most needed - especially in the medium and long term. To do this we must find ways to maximise the socio-economic benefits of tourism for local communities - growing tourism entrepreneurship in our previously disadvantaged communities whilst at the same time creating year-round jobs in the formal tourism sector.
Amongst the initiatives currently underway to address these challenges are:
Supporting greater empowerment: Over the next year our Provincial Government will implement a range of programmes to boost sustainable economic empowerment initiatives in the Western Cape tourism sector. One of these will be the hosting a Black Economic Empowerment tourism summit in the run-up to our provincial Growth and Development Summit. Our Department of Economic Development and Tourism is currently developing a directory which lists specific contact details of tourism entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities for use within Government Departments, parastatals and the private sector. We want to challenge emerging tourism operators to invest in mainstream tourism ventures and it is our aim to empower them to be competitive in these fields.
Passing better regulations: We have already adopted a strategy to manage the entry and placement of formerly disadvantaged tourist guides in all eight tourism regions. After exhaustive consultation early next year, we will be debating new provincial legislation in the form of the Mandatory Tourism Registration Bill which could:
- Appoint a provincial tourism protector who can receive and investigate consumer complaints against registered tourism service providers and practitioners;
- Introduce a mandatory registration system for tourism businesses;
- Enforce the National Grading Council 's minimum requirements;
- Grant registration licences every two year at a minimal fee only to cover administration costs;
- Train local tourism bureaux to oversee implementation in their areas while taking cognisance of other projects of provincial significance such as Road Signage and E-Business Strategy;
- Develop a directory of all registered businesses;
- Develop certificates/insignia to identify registered businesses;
- Develop regulations governing the usage of the (i) sign
Formulating better strategies: Our Department of Economic Development and Tourism has already developed our draft Integrated Tourism Development Framework, which has been widely circulated for comment from the industry over the past ten months. We are also close to completing our Human Resources Development Framework for tourism which will analyse and address the current mismatch between the supply and demand for scare skills in tourism through bursary funding, training entrepreneurs in corporate governance and leadership, a schools programme and tourist guide programmes.
Ensuring better structures: Our Department of Economic Development and Tourism is responsible for the development and regulation of tourism as well as major capital projects that support tourism growth like the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Tourism marketing has been outsourced to the Western Cape Tourism Board and our new Destination Marketing Organisation in partnership with the City of Cape Town and other tourism stakeholders, to align our efforts to achieve better value for money and a really competitive product to compete globally for tourism growth.
Our Provincial Government is committed to spreading the benefits associated with tourism growth to all our people, both urban and rural, and will encourage tourism development that is sensitive to the social requirements and sensitivities at the local level. We believe that tourism should be everybody's business.
Enquiries: Riaan AucampCell: 083 778 9923
