“The potential of tourism as a key economic sector will depend on the level of coordination and collaboration between the sectors and all spheres of government.” Speaking at the inaugural session of the National Tourism Stakeholder Forum (NTSF) in Johannesburg yesterday, the National Department of Tourism Director-General Ambassador Kingsley Makhubela, said the department thus needed to review the manner in which it related to the tourism sector as well as to the three spheres of government in positioning tourism as a key growth driver of the economy.
The NTSF is a delivery forum aimed at enhancing partnerships for the implementation of the National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS). It will be comprised of representatives from government, business, organised labour, academic and research institutions, non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations.
The NTSS is a product of a collective sector wide consultation effort, whose aim is to place tourism on a new and ambitious growth trajectory for the future. During the development process, the sector collectively agreed on a number of priorities and set targets for a number of institutions and stakeholders which included amongst others positioning South Africa as one of the top 20 destinations by 2020.
Director-General Makhubela further stated that the National Department of Tourism (NDT) would align its departmental mandate so as to respond to the strategic priorities of the NTSS. “We have no doubt the process will filter to all other spheres, particularly provinces and local government,” he added.
After much robust engagement, the session resolved that the shape of the forum would follow a cluster formation comprised of representatives from the respective sector groups, which have direct implementation responsibilities from the NTSS.
The clusters are:
- Policy, Strategy Regulations, Governance, Monitoring and Evaluation
- Tourism Growth and Development: Demand and Supply
- People Development
- Enablers of Growth.
The clusters were mandated to monitor that sector groups make progress on the NTSS during the implementation phase 2011-2016.
For more information please contact:
Trevor Bloem
Tel: 012 310 3631
Cell: 082 771 6729
E-mail: tbloem@tourism.gov.za
Mpumi Simelane
Cell: 082 354 1510
E-mail: msimelane@tourism.gov.za
