When our Government came into office at the end of 2001 we immediately realised the importance of boosting the sectors of our economy with the best growth potential. Tourism was at the top of that list. Our two biggest priorities in tourism have been the creation a unified marketing structure combining the different strengths of the industry, and to achieve real and sustainable growth. Today we are here to celebrate success in both of these goals.

In spite of the global slow-down in tourism, which last year saw world-wide tourism figures drop by 1,8%, Western Cape tourism continues to beat expectations and seemingly to defy gravity. The latest report from our partners in the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) shows that our total passenger arrivals and departures broke the key barrier of 500 000 in two of the last three months and are set to do so again in March. We have seen almost 11% growth in comparison to January and February last year, and almost 20% growth compared to 2002.

These results are very encouraging and they confirm that our approach is working. The results must also be seen against the criticism that Western Cape tourism is overpriced. Although this may be true in some isolated cases, this growth proves that by far the majority of Western Cape tourism products remain highly attractive and provide good value for money.

Amongst the most successful direct actions taken by the Western Cape Government last year was our intervention to remove the 'direct flight bottle-neck' that was building as demand for flights to the Cape rapidly outpaced the flights available - especially during peak season. Our very successful Airline Destination Conference, held last year in partnership with ACSA, played an important role in adding much-needed capacity to our routes. The number of international flights directly to Cape Town over the summer season increased last year from 68 to 83 per week, and from 1 September this year, SAA will begin flying another 3 direct flights every week between Cape Town and Frankfurt. We also expect announcements in the near future by Varig and Civair in this regard.

I am also very pleased today, to officially introduce Ms. Nokuthula Dube, CEO of our new Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO), who takes up her duties starting tomorrow. The strength of the DMO is that it brings together international expertise with local understanding and experience. In fact, the Western Cape is the only province that has succeeded in pulling together so many role-players into a formal industry body like the DMO and its advisory committees. In the future we believe that this body will be well placed to handle industry challenges like the pricing issue, which should be dealt with in the first place by the industry itself.

We wish Nokuthula, and her team every success in building on what has already been achieved - and our Government stands ready to support them in these efforts. With a R60m budget - more than double the funding ever before available -the DMO is set to grow tourism in our province to levels never before thought possible.

Working on the basis of a new tourism forecast model developed in the Office of the Premier, our Government believes that by 2013 the Western Cape has the potential to attract almost 2,6 million international visitors and more than 6,7 million domestic visitors every year. Our projections show that this growth can create almost 240 000 new jobs in that period, and will be looking to the DMO to drive this process.

Enquiries: Riaan Aucamp