The Limpopo provincial government has embarked on a massive campaign to unlock the province’s tourism and hospitality value chain as a way of pushing back the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.
Economic development, environment and tourism MEC Rodgers Monama unveiled the plans during the provincial media launch of Tourism Month activities at the exotic Palala Boutique Game Lodge & Spa in Lephalale this week.
He said this year’s Tourism Month campaign, through the Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA), featured SA Travel Week, Limpopo Wildlife Mahala Week, Phala Phala FM Royal Heritage Festival, Miss Heritage Global at Kalahari Waterfront Resort, and more.
Monama said in spite of Limpopo’s prestigious status as the third most visited province in
South Africa, owners of small, medium and micro enterprises were instrumental in helping the province achieve its goals.
“Our relentless efforts of awakening what seems to be the sleeping giant, our tourism sector, is to be preserved in our endeavours to profile and market our province. The tide is changing for the better, and as it changes it must benefit our SMMEs in the broader tourism and hospitality value chain’s uncharted destinations and diverse offerings,” said Monama.
According to the MEC, the activities to be rolled out are part of concerted efforts to address worldwide concerns mentioned in the UN Millennium Development Goals. To make considerable strides towards achieving such noble goals will need us to work harder to alleviate the challenges facing ordinary Limpopo citizens, Monama said.
“Given the wealth of tourism outputs at our disposal, we are well placed to eradicate these challenges sooner. We just need to double our efforts and utilise the tourism sector to bring relief to the challenges faced by our people,” he said.
Monama added his department would ensure an increase in domestic tourism demand, and promote less-visited regions, and year-round leisure travel in Limpopo.
“I was taken aback about a month ago when I was in Hoedspruit when I met a tourist from Canada who told me that in her country it’s winter, so she decided to come to Hoedspruit because the winter there is warmer.
“So there is potential to grow our tourism sector to remain at the peak throughout the year given our favourable weather throughout the year,” he said.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, before the 2020 pandemic, travel and tourism was a major sector, contributing to one in four new jobs, 10.3% of global GDP ($9.6-trillion), and 10.3% of all jobs. International visitor spending reached $1.8-trillion in 2019, accounting for 6.8% of world-wide exports.
“We all agree that travel and tourism enable socio-economic development, job creation and poverty reduction. This in turn drives prosperity and a significant positive social impact, providing unique opportunities to women, minorities and young people who remain vulnerable to all socio-economic ills plaguing our society.
“Clearly, tourism goes where other sectors often don’t. In our country, the month of August is dedicated to celebrating contributions made by women in our lives as a nation. As we do that, I must reiterate that the tourism sector employs a disproportionately high percentage of women,” Monama said.
One of the women role players who attended the event, Duduzile Maluleke, from The D Travelite Tours in Mokopane, said: “We are excited about the media launch as we continue to sell tourism landscape and biosphere connected to the breathtaking Waterberg district and surrounding areas.”
LTA corporate communications head Mike Tauoatsoala said although they were launching activities in line with the September Tourism Month, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation has tasked every country to work under the theme Tourism and Green Investment.
“We will be seeing the ripple effects as our campaign kicks off from September until next August. This will ensure continual job creation throughout the next 12 months.
“We are also happy to see the investment made at Palala Boutique Game Lodge & Spar and their efforts being as natural as possible, having their own water purification scheme and fast-tracking their plans to get off the Eskom grid through their solar plant,” said Tauatsoala.
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