Indaba 2007, Durban
13 May 2007
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mr Marthinus van
Schalkwyk
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
National Ministers present
MECs from all provinces
Members of Parliament
Mayor of EThekwini Municipality, Clr Obed Mlaba
CEO of South African Tourism, Mr Moeketsi Mosola
Tourism delegates
Ladies and gentlemen
Tourism booming in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)
It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to the South African
Tourism Indaba 2007 and I especially welcome those who are visitors to the
province of KwaZulu-Natal. Amongst you this afternoon are old friends of our
province. We have no doubt that during this year's Indaba we will increase our
circle of friendship and stretch it to more corners of the world. I hope your
stay will allow you the opportunity to sample as much as you can of what is on
offer in the way of tourist attractions, not just in Durban but further inland
as well. The Tourism Indaba, which we are proud to host, has become one of the
world's top three of such events and has become a vital connection between
South Africa and its neighbouring states and the international market.
Ladies and gentlemen, I find it appropriate that South African Tourism
should choose Durban for the Tourism Indaba because KwaZulu-Natal is one of the
most dynamic and exciting regions on this entire continent. This is a province
which has already dedicated some R8 billion to infrastructural development over
the coming years. This includes the widening and deepening of Durban harbour so
that it can handle the new generation of super-tankers. It includes the
development of a new international airport some five kilometres north of Durban
that will handle new generation airliners and freight aircraft. The airport
will give KwaZulu Natal a long-haul capacity to reach the international markets
of Europe, the Indian Ocean Rim and elsewhere. We are also in the middle of
preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup which include constructing a massive
and iconic stadium here in Durban, where one of the World Cup semi-finals will
be played.
We are well on the way to ensuring that we are ready to host the 2010 FIFA
Soccer World Cup. In this Host City of Durban, our 70 000-seater stadium is
ahead of schedule and we will soon be launching an inner-city people mover. We
have over 10 hotels presently under construction and have a tremendous range of
tourism products under development, from beachfront experiences to historical,
cultural and artistic products. On 23 November this year, right here at the ICC
Arena complex, we will host the 2010 FIFA Preliminary Draw which will be one of
Africa biggest media events. The African qualifiers of the Beach Soccer World
Cup will again be held here in Durban. We are steaming ahead towards 2010
having recently hosted yet another successful A1 Grand Prix. This is not an
exhaustive list and I am pleased that we have many exciting events planned for
the next few years.
We mention all of these factors because they give an indication of the
inherent economic strength of this province and its growing strategic
importance. Our harbours at Durban the largest and busiest in Africa and
Richards Bay, further north the largest bulk goods handler in Africa connect to
the industrial heartland of Gauteng province. These are the arteries of the
economy of South Africa itself and of Southern Africa as a whole. When the Dube
Tradeport is constructed incorporating the new international airport I have
just mentioned the configuration of Durban, Richards Bay and Dube will create a
new economic hub, a springboard into the African hinterland and a highly
efficient connection with the outside world that has not existed before. In
this vein, we see KwaZulu-Natal developing into something like a Singapore of
Southern Africa, with an exponential increase in trade and economic traffic as
the Durban/Richards Bay/Dube system develops certainly be an important facet of
this economic development, ranking, as it already does, alongside our
industrial and agricultural output.
Tourism is already an important and highly developed industry in
KwaZulu-Natal. We dominate the domestic market and are taking an increasing
share of the international one as well. We believe that as the general economy
of KwaZulu-Natal grows, the tourism sector will grow as well. It is one of
those facts of economics. Growth in one sector stimulates growth in others.
What I am saying, ladies and gentlemen, is that, investment in the tourism
economy of KwaZulu-Natal - any involvement with it - means buying a stake in a
zone of burgeoning economic activity and rising prosperity. It is a very good
bet. There are reasons why KwaZulu-Natal should already have such a developed
tourism sector and such a healthy share of the market. The province has
powerful natural attractions, scenic grandeur in settings that range from high
mountains to wonderful beaches and coral reefs, pristine wilderness with the
Big Five - lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo - and in one wilderness
area the Big Six.
At Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, we have whales as well as elephant - the
greatest marine mammals and the greatest terrestrial mammals. I am sure this is
unique. We also have two World Heritage sites at Greater St Lucia and in the
Ukhahlamba/Drakensberg mountain range. KwaZulu-Natal history in the
battlefields of the Anglo Zulu War and the Anglo Boer War is second to none.
Perhaps our greatest asset is our vibrant cultural diversity, KZN being a
meeting place of the heritages of Africa, Asia and Europe. The diversity is all
about us in architecture, dress, language, religion, cuisine, art and music. I
believe this is one of KwaZulu-Natal's biggest attractions.
As the Government of KwaZulu Natal we are taking steps to remedy the
marginalisation of a very important part of our country and province's cultural
heritage. We are recognising and stimulating Zulu culture, partly to reverse
the slights and injustices of the past and partly to fully develop it into an
integral part of the KwaZulu-Natal tourism product. Our efforts already promise
to establish another tourism node in the province, and early results are
encouraging. We are indeed telling the story of the Zulu people and of the
people of KwaZulu Natal. At eMakhosini the Valley of the Kings, a remote and
ruggedly beautiful valley in the northeast of the province, a Heritage Park has
been established. Here Zulu culture is featured in proximity to a nature
reserve that will eventually have the Big Five of the animal kingdom.
eMakhosini is in many ways the crucible of early Zulu history and culture.
Several of the early kings are buried there. An impressively sculptured hilltop
monument named Spirit of eMakhosini already draws significant numbers of
tourists. In the next two months, work will begin on a R20 million state of the
art multi media centre in the eMakhosini Valley at Mgungundlovu, the restored
royal residence of King Dingane. This will include first-rate audio visual
representations of Zulu history and culture. Tourists who cross the Thukela
River into historic Zululand will encounter on the south bank something to
compare with the Statue of Liberty, in New York, or the Arc de Triomphe, in
Paris. A giant statue of King Shaka, founder of the Zulu nation, is in the
planning stages and it is intended that it will be on an iconic scale,
beautiful and absolutely awe-inspiring. Elsewhere in the vicinity will be a
similar statue of King Cetshwayo, who was attacked by the colonial British.
Ladies and gentlemen, I believe eMakhosini has the potential to become
KwaZulu-Natal's third World Heritage Site because of its cultural richness and
its undisturbed ecology. Elsewhere, a statue of King Dinuzulu will be unveiled
at the lower end of Berea Road in Durban next month. This statue will be placed
adjacent to the existing one of the Boer forces in the Anglo Boer War and the
first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. There is meaning in this
juxtaposition. Botha was Dinuzulu's ally in the Zulu Civil War which had been
stirred up by the British colonial authorities. When he became Prime Minister
of the Union, one of Botha's first actions was to release Dinuzulu, who had
been imprisoned by the British after the Bhambatha Uprising.I believe these
statues - one old, one new - will provide another focal point for tourism.
The unveiling will take the form of a two-day prayer meeting on 21 and 22
June this year. Other sites of Zulu history and culture are being developed as
well. There is now an interpretation centre at Border Cave, a site of immense
archaeological interest on the border with Swaziland, as well as rustic
accommodation provided by the local community. A church is to be built at Ceza,
where Dinuzulu was the first Zulu King known in history to pray to the
Christian God. At Mondi there is now a monument to the Zulu's first Christian
martyr Maqhamusela Khanyile. Ladies and gentlemen, KwaZulu-Natal always did
have a tourism package of unrivalled variety. We are now collectively enhancing
that product and in the process we have created a demand for new lodges, hotels
and other tourism operations.
Ladies and gentlemen, we believe tourism in KwaZulu-Natal does not exist in
isolation. A thriving tourism industry in one country, region or province
benefits the others. Tourism does not recognise provincial or national
boundaries. Our challenge is to establish tourism nodes where the attraction is
real, standards of service are world class, prices are competitive and the
personal safety of the visitors is guaranteed. Once a pattern of such nodes is
established, potential tourists are presented with a multi-destination choice.
This means they are likely to spread their choice, becoming regular visitors to
the sub-continent as a whole. We in KwaZulu-Natal are determined to play our
part.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Tourism Indaba captures the essence of that
multi-nodal, multi-destination character on which the tourism industry thrives.
I wish you a pleasant and constructive few days here in the City of Durban and
the province of KwaZulu-Natal. I am sure your networking will contribute in no
small measure to the growth of the tourism Industry. In this way more people
will get a chance to experience the beauty and hospitality of parts of the
world. We hope that the greatest number will make KwaZulu-Natal a place of
their choice.
Thank you.
Enquiries:
Mandla Msomi
Cell: 082 317 3727
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
13 May 2007
Source: SAPA
