The South African Ambassador to Russia, Mr Mandisi Mpahlwa says South Africa aims to be in the top 20 of the tourism destinations by 2020 as set out in the government’s National Tourism Sector Strategy and the Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy. Mpahlwa was delivering a key note speech at a tourism workshop hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) in Vladivostok, today as part of the Investment and Trade Initiative (ITI) to Russia.
“The key message to the Russians is that South Africa is a multi-dimensional tourist destination with a variety of experiences for different categories of tourists on offer. Also, South Africa is a place that has a good business environment, easy to invest in and has strong legal protection for companies that do business or want to do business in the country,” said Mpahlwa.
Mpahlwa shared with the Russians that tourism in South Africa continues to be a vital contributor to the South African economy, contributing significantly to its Gross Domestic Product and providing many direct and indirect sustainable jobs.
According to Mpahlwa, what makes South Africa one of the best tourism destinations is the well-trained and dedicated workforce with passion for service excellence.
“It is thus no wonder that three Cape Town hotels have made it onto the World’s Best Service list in the Africa and Middle East category in an international survey by the United States edition of Travel and Leisure released in the magazine’s June 2013 issue.
Mpahlwa noted that South Africa is a long-haul destination for the Russian tourists with an absence of direct flights between the two countries. But he added that it was important to mention that there are many convenient and reliable flight connections which can be utilised to get to South Africa.
The ITI will be concluded with site visits to Russian wine, flower, electrical and jewellery companies, as well as to the Far Eastern Federal University and Vladivostok State University Economics and Service.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe
Departmental Spokesperson
Mobile: 079 492 1774
Tel: 012 394 1650
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
Twitter: @the_dti
