South Africa will leave no stone unturned in its quest to grow tourism by attracting foreign tourists to its shores and boosting domestic travel at the same time, Tourism Minister Mamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said on Friday.
Launching Tourism Month, Kubayi-Ngubane said in her government’s efforts to grow tourism, her country intended to revitalise the economy to create the much needed jobs in the nation.
South Africa celebrates Tourism Month in September which coincides with World Tourism Day, hosted annually in the same month, on the 27 September.
“We remain confident that tourism will contribute to our country turning to positive economic growth desired by our government and also contribute to more jobs to its maximum potential,” the minister said.
The theme for this year’s World Tourism Day is “Tourism and Jobs – A Better Future for All.” The theme highlights the tourism sector’s vast capability to create jobs and therefore reduce the country’s unemployment rate.
The total consumption of tourism through domestic and international tourism for 2018 directly accounted for 2.9% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), and accounted for 4.5% of total employment.
In 2018 domestic tourism contributed US$1.9 billion in revenue. With aggressive marketing this figure could double, the minister added.
She called on all South Africans to be ambassadors of their country, to travel and experience its length and breadth of the nation.
NM/abj/APA