Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu today held a stakeholder engagement summit with Limpopo tourism sector. The event, co-hosted by Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism and Limpopo Tourism Agency (LTA) was held at Protea Hotel in Polokwane. It was attended by various stakeholders including Women in Tourism (WIT), South African Township and Village Tourism Association (SATOVITO) Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) Traditional African Homestays South Africa (TAHS-SA) and local government representatives.
Minister Sisulu, who is in Limpopo to attend the ruling party’s 110-year anniversary and the ANC’s January 8 Statement taking place on Saturday, joined delegates virtually. Some of the concerns raised by the stakeholders included what government was doing to support the tourism sector impacted negatively by the Covid-19 pandemic and what government was doing to support township and rural tourism.
Minister Sisulu was also asked what government was doing to ensure the safety of tourists visiting the country. She told stakeholders that government was sympathetic to the sector which is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and that everything would be done to ensure that the sector recovers. She said the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (TSRP), available on the departments website, is a comprehensive response by the sector and its constituent partners to the multiple challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Plan acknowledges the need for targeted, coordinated action to mitigate the impacts of the crisis and sets the sector on the most optimal path to recovery, transformation and long- term sustainability, Minister Sisulu said. She added that among the strategic interventions that would be implemented in order to support the revival of the sector is the implementation of norms and standards for safe operation across the tourism value chain to enable safe travel and rebuild traveler confidence and to stimulate domestic demand through targeted initiatives and campaigns.
Minister Sisulu expressed optimism about the prospects of tourism bouncing back and welcomed the recent announcements by governments of some source markets to remove South Africa from their travel Red List as tourism can only thrive when country borders are open. She said government would continue engaging countries whose borders remain closed to South Africa and other African countries. Minister Sisulu concluded by promising stakeholders that she would in due course visit the province for a number of days to engage more with them and to visit a few tourism establishments in the province.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Department of Tourism, Republic of South Africa.
