Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille painted a hopeful picture of Africa’s future in tourism, promising job creation in the next five years.
De Lille was speaking at the official opening of the Africa Tourism Indaba 2025 at the Durban ICC on Tuesday. She said the future of tourism is diverse, youthful, green, and digital.
She said there was no time to rest, as the sector needed to break through to much higher growth.
Five-year tourism growth plan
De Lille announced that the department was finalising a five-year tourism growth partnership plan.
This plan will guide the sector until 2030 and aims to deliver major gains in job creation, local spending, and international arrivals.
“We aim to grow employment from the 1.8 million in 2024 through tourism to at least 2.5 million in the next five years. We also aim to grow domestic spending, domestic tourism is the bedrock of our sector. And we want to grow that in the next five years by another 25%,” said De Lille.
She highlighted the economic importance of tourism in the economy. De Lille further set a target to increase tourism’s contribution to South Africa’s GDP from 8.8% to at least 10%.
Partnerships to fuel growth
“We want to welcome an extra 1 million international arrivals annually. This means growing by 35% to 2.8 million and 24% to increase that to 3.8 million and beyond,” she said.
“This is not a difficult task if we work together, if we partner with the private sector. Because I believe that anything is possible. But on the condition that we all work hard and we work damn hard, then we can achieve it.”
De Lille also spoke of South Africa’s latest international campaign: South Africa Awaits —Come And Find Your Joy in Our Country. She described it as a heartfelt invitation to experience the country through its attractions, people, culture and emotion.
African leadership in tourism
“As we look ahead, let this Indaba mark another chapter of African leadership in tourism. Let us commit again at the Travel Indaba as Africans to build an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient sector.
“One that lifts up our communities, that bridges borders. This is our time, this is our Africa, and we are here to celebrate this,” said De Lille.
The Africa Tourism Indaba 2025 is set to run through to May 15. It is showcasing travel and hospitality opportunities across the continent.
