With African land arrivals making up almost 75% of foreign arrivals to South Africa, the importance of African visitors cannot be underestimated, Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk said today.
Minister van Schalkwyk visited the Lebombo border post near Nelspruit to meet border officials and engage with them on service excellence. During his visit, the Minister spent time talking with officials at the border and addressed them about the important role they play in influencing the number of repeat travellers from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries to South Africa. These countries are Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Minister van Schalkwyk said the majority of visitors from SADC countries travel to South Africa for shopping, to visit friends and family and for general holiday purposes, thus contributing significantly to the South African economy.
"The total foreign direct spend by visitors to South Africa from African land markets amounted to more than R43 billion last year, up from just over R35 billion in 2007. The average spend per trip by visitors from these markets was R10 800 in 2008. This cannot be regarded as small change in anybody's book and we are committed to growing our African tourism markets in every way possible," Minister van Schalkwyk said.
"Last year more than seven million people from SADC countries visited South Africa. Statistics from April this year show that arrivals from the Africa land markets numbered 665 318 visitors so far this year. Of these, 491 601 were from Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana. Arrivals from Mozambique are also of great importance to us, and last year we saw more than 1.2 million visitors from Mozambique," the Minister said.
The Minister's visit forms part of South African Tourism's (SAT) Welcome campaign, which was launched by the Minister in 2005 and aims to persuade South Africans to be good hosts.
"We want to ensure that everyone who is involved with tourists and forms part of the tourism value chain is equipped with the knowledge and skills to make visitors feel welcome. It was therefore particularly appropriate that we extended this campaign to South Africa's busiest borders in 2007. This border post at Lebombo often receives between 300 000 and 500 000 people during peak periods, and it is therefore very apt that we today thank our border officials for their hard work and encourage them to continue to embody the spirit of the Welcome campaign," Minister van Schalkwyk said.
Addressing the media and border officials, Minister van Schalkwyk said that globally, travel markets were feeling the pinch of the economic recession. "Yet, despite this, our arrivals from Africa continue to grow, outperforming arrivals from the UK and the rest of Europe combined. There can be no denying that African and indeed SADC travellers contribute greatly to our industry and to our economic growth. We must continue to make tourists feel welcome in order to ensure that they return to South Africa again and again."
The Minister said one of the ways of doing this was to ensure border officials were well versed on what it meant to provide good service. "Officials at the border often work long, tedious hours and deal with a magnitude of people, particularly during peak season. We have what we call 'Welcome Values' that we would like for them to live out in their daily workplace. A visitor who feels he or she has been served well and warmly received will reciprocate with friendliness and a desire to visit again," the Minister said.
"Furthermore, with the 2010 FIFA World Cup less than a year away, we need to ensure that our African neighbours feel welcome. This World Cup belongs to the continent and we need to involve our neighbours in assisting with the promotion of the tournament and in delivering a truly African World Cup to the rest of the world," he noted. Says Country Manager: Southern Africa at South African Tourism Nothando Mathe:
"We appreciate the support and endorsement given by the Minister in ensuring continuity of this campaign. Border officials are a visitor's first point of contact with a country and its people. Their value in the tourism value chain is pivotal. By validating their work and encouraging them to embrace the Welcome principles and values, we are well on our way to seeing more repeat travellers and also welcoming new ones."
Enquiries:
Monde Mateza
South African Tourism
Tel: 011 895 3043
Cell: 083 607 5985
E-mail: monde@southafrica.net
Lebo Zulu
FD Beachhead
Tel: 011 214 2408
Cell: 076 716 6677
E-mail: lebo.zulu@fd.com
Ronel Bester
Ministry of Tourism
Cell: 083 242 7763
E-mail: rbester@deat.gov.za
Issued by: Ministry of Tourism
11 August 2009
Source: Ministry of Tourism (http://www.deat.gov.za)
