Address by Tourism Deputy Minister Tokozile Xasa at the Intercontinental Hotel in Osaka, Japan
Mr Bradley Brouwer, President of the Asia Pacific region for South African Tourism,
Team Tourism
Various companies and exhibitors from South Africa,
Various companies and Exhibitors from Japan especially Osaka
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen
Konnichiwa
(Good afternoon)
I am happy to be back again to your beautiful city Osaka with a warm welcome, good food, and service excellence displayed as we arrived here at the InterContinenal Hotel. This is what we also boast about in South Africa - the welcoming and warmth of our people , beautiful country boasting service excellence and value for money.
South Africa and Japan have very strong relation normalized as far back as 1992 which today has been upgraded to a Strategic Cooperation Partnership.
Japan is South Africa's largest trade partner after China and Us and on the other hand South Africa is Japan's largest trade partner in the African continent. To date South Africa prioritised Tourism as one of key growth sectors of the economy. So new opportunities for working together are emerging through this sector which also is key for travellers be it for trade or leisure. For example – tourism has been added in what we term operation Phakisa - a Malaysian term for fast tracked results – to leverage the ocean’s wealth. Japan’s capability in education, training of marine engineers, marine scientists, aqua culture; boat and ship building are some of the areas that have been identified to work with Japan. This will bring more active travel and trade and we encourage the trade to tap into those new opportunities.
The workshops serve as a valuable networking opportunity, allowing not only for the creation and consolidation of new business and trade opportunities, but will help boost confidence in the destination among the outbound operators and travel agents in the market place.
Key tourism trade companies from South Africa are in attendance, including provincial tourism authorities, hotels, resorts and other tourism-related service providers to share their latest offerings.
South Africa as a destination has many icons that I am sure will pleasantly surprise and enchant the Japanese.
From the seemingly endless fields of flowers that blanket the Namakwaland to the world-famous Robben Island which housed the father of our nation Nelson Mandela as a prisoner.
South Africa’s warm, welcoming friendly people are our greatest asset, and they are ready to welcome Japanese tourists to South Africa. In addition to SA’s friendly people, we are also welcoming you to come and experience our vast array of scenic beauty, Wildlife, urban culture, luxury shopping and our world class food and award winning wines; all packaged to provide Japanese tourists with excellent value for money.
Because we know that the majority of senior tourists go to South Africa on packaged tours, you will also get a full sense of how South Africa and our neighbouring countries achieved their freedom.
Tourism is highlighted in our government’s New Growth Path and National Development Plan (NDP) as a catalyst to create jobs, alleviate poverty and eliminate inequality so we hope to see you in South Africa soon.
In conclusion:
Because I hope to see you soon in South Africa, I will not say ‘Sayounara’ (Good bye) but rather ‘Mata raishu’ (See you next week).
Doumo arigatou gozaimasu
(Thank you very much)
