Budgetary
Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism on the
performance of the Department of Tourism for the 2010/11 Financial Year, dated
18 October 2011
The Portfolio Committee on Tourism, having assessed the service delivery
performance by reviewing the Annual Report and Financial Statements of the
Department of Tourism, reports as follows:
1.
Introduction
The National
Department of Tourism has made notable progress since its separation from the
Department of Environmental Affairs; it has also ensured that a proper
foundation is in place towards the realisation of the department’s vision,
which is to be globally celebrated as a leader in tourism excellence.[1]
In line with the vision of the Department a review of the 2009/2011- 2014/1015
strategic imperatives was conducted to ensure that departmental priorities take
precedence. In as much as this move has assisted the department in refocusing its
deliverables, there have been areas of concern that still require the department’s
intervention in order for it to fully recognise its vision and greatly assist
in realising the country’s national priorities.
The hosting
of the 2010 FIFA World Cup did not only provide South Africa with a platform to
showcase its capacity to host mega-Events
but it went as far as changing global perceptions about the country as a
tourist destination. Perceptions about the safety of tourists in
Tourism
being a slow transforming industry, the Department had to further ensure that
steps in realising transformation of this economically important industry are
carried out, mainly through the tourism Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment
(BBBEE) Framework.[3] Tourism
in the country is mostly private sector-driven and the role of the private
sector should not be undermined as it plays a huge role in the growth and
development of this sector. However there is a need for the private sector and
the Department to form Public Private Partnerships that will allow for the
growth of the emerging small businesses and subsequently work towards
transforming the industry.
The
committee, in reviewing the work of the department in the 2010/11 financial
year placed emphasis on the following aspects:
The
committee, in undertaking this process used a number of source documents
ranging from the State of the Nation Address, strategic plans of the
department, briefing sessions as well as oversight visits as a base to analyse
the work of the department.
1.1 The role of the Committee
The mandate of the committee is underpinned by provisions of the
Constitution of the
The mandate and role of the committee is to:
1.2 National
Department of Tourism
The mandate and core business of the department is underpinned by the
Constitution and all other relevant legislation and policies applicable to the
government, including Batho Pele and the White Paper.
The vision and mission of the department embodies the mandate of the
department, as follows:
2.
Departments
Strategic Priorities and Measurable Objectives
The aim of the department is to promote and support growth and
development of an equitable, competitive and sustainable tourism sector,
enhancing its contribution to national priorities.
2.1 Strategic Plan of the Department
Key sector for economic growth and job creation: Government’s industrial
policy action plan identifies tourism as a driver of both domestic consumer
spending and foreign exchange earnings. The
tourism is a key labour-intensive sector and strategic area of the economy,
with low barriers to entry for entrepreneurs, and has the potential to create
jobs in both urban and rural areas and stimulate growth. It is estimated that
for every 16 tourists, a job is created in the sector. Tourism is set to
contribute 225 000 new jobs by 2020.
In the medium term the department aims to:
2.2 Measurable Objectives of the Department
In line with
the vision of the National Department of Tourism, and in alignment with the
national priorities, the Department identified objectives that would accelerate
delivery of services in the tourism sector. The hosting of the 2010 FIFA World
Cup meant that service excellence, quality product development and responsible
tourism had to be on top of the list so as to generate economic benefits for
local people and enhance living conditions for hosting communities.[4]
Outlined below are the strategic objectives of the Department as stated in the
2010/2011 Strategic Plan.[5]
·
To grow the travel and tourism
sector’s absolute contribution to GDP by more than average GDP growth;
·
To achieve transformation within the
travel and tourism sector;
·
To provide excellent people
development and decent work within the travel and tourism sector;
·
To entrench a culture of travel amongst South Africans;
·
To deliver a world class visitor
experience; and
·
To address the issue of geographic,
seasonal and rural spread.
Amongst the
above mentioned objectives the biggest drive is to positively contribute
towards Gross Domestic Product growth and increase the contribution of tourism
towards job creation through foreign tourism and domestic tourism growth with
an increase in tourism investment and foreign earnings. In order to drive the transformation of this
sector the Department needs to invest more energy and resources in the
development of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), and also promote
mentorship programmes by established businesses for emerging entrepreneurs.
Attention to training needs in order to further the goal of service excellence
needs to be intensified if
Supporting
product development in rural areas for tourist consumption will be a critical tool
in tourism’s role in rural development. In line with the above mentioned
points, the implementation of programmes at the local level of government is
very critical with regard to rural tourism development, thus the Department
needs to actively engage with municipalities, especially in targeted areas and
contribute towards tourism product development in areas where there is the
possibility of a feasible project.
3.
Analysis of
the Department’s Prevailing Strategic and Operational Plan
The following provides a breakdown per programme on key performance
indicators, targets and actual performance:
3.1 Programme 1: Administration
In terms of empowerment of South Africans through access to tourism
information, the average monthly traffic target on the department’s website by
external people had been set at 15 000, the actual figure achieved was 296,192
hits. The number of stakeholder engagement initiatives target was set at 1,
while the actual achievement was 5.
With regards to facilitating conducive global environment that supports
growth, development and sustainability of tourism in
Regarding the use of government procurement to promote transformation,
the percentage of expenditure on procurement from broad based black economic
empowerment BBBEE or black economic empowerment enterprises target was set at
58%, while actual percentage achieved was 59%.
3.2 Programme 2: Tourism Development
With regards to the contribution to job creation through the use of labour-intensive
methods targeting the unemployed, youth, women, people with disabilities and
the SMMEs, the number of full time equivalent jobs created from the Medium Term
Expenditure Framework Baseline budget target was set at 9 861, while the actual
jobs created was 8 090. The number of
accredited training person days created from MTEF Baseline budget target was 17
629 days while the actual figure achieved was 25 390 days.
In terms of ensuring demographic representativity within the tourism
sector, the percentage of black owned tourism enterprises in line with the
Tourism Charter target was set at 30%. Research conducted indicates 22.8% of
large enterprises comply; 21.3% were Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSE) and
17.7% of Exempt Micro Enterprises (EME) complied with the 30% ownership target.
In terms of the increase in the number of black women in executive
positions and ownership of businesses, the target was set at 20%. The Tourism
Enterprise Partnership (TEP) for the mentoring of women which would result to
women being allocated international mentors to support them in the development
and implementation of their business plans had been agreed to. To address the
imbalanced geographic spread and seasonality of tourists and visitors, the
number of accommodation and conferencing facilities developed in less visited
provinces, 8 were initiated and the actual performance achieved was 10.
To ensure involvement of rural communities in mainstream tourism, the
number of sustainable tourism products and experiences in rural areas target
had been set at 5. To date a draft rural tourism strategy has been developed. A
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Department of Tourism and the
Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has been vetted and is ready to
be signed.
3.3 Programme 3: Tourism Growth
To ensure provision of decent work within the tourism sector, the number
of South Africans as a percentage of the total workforce in the tourism sector
target was to have a baseline and framework in place. The actual performance
was that a concept document had been developed. The target for the number of
educators trained to better understand tourism was set at 100, while the actual
figure achieved was 805.
As part of providing excellent people development within the tourism
sector targeting young people, the target for the number of people exposed to
international and local training opportunities was set at 180, while the actual
performance figure was 242. The number of tourism graduates placed for experiential
learning target was 50, the actual figure sat at 300.
The percentage of tourism graduates placed for experiential learning
employed had a target set at 5% while the actual percentage employed was 39%.
The target for the number of school leavers who register for tourism
qualification at higher learning institutions was set at 200 while the actual
performance figure was at 7 557.
In terms of ensuring responsible tourism best practices, the percentage
of tourism establishments adopting and implementing Universal Accessibility
minimum requirements was to have a target of having minimum requirements in
place. The target was not achieved.
To ensure competitiveness of the tourism sector, the percentage of
tourist guides registered in the new system had a target of 20% while the
actual performance percentage was at 25.3%. The number of participants on
service excellence training, target was 250 000, while actual performance was that
14 000 frontline staff were trained towards 2010 FIFA World Cup.
3.4 Programme 4: Policy, Research,
Monitoring and Evaluation
Policy development and Evaluation facilitates sector policy development,
planning, monitoring and evaluation: It is meant to ensure that the tourism
policy environment is conducive to sustainable growth and development. To
inform tourism planning and decision making with timeous and relevant tourism,
the number of impact evaluation reports for tourism sector initiatives
including major events had a target of 1 which was achieved. The target was set
to have a Draft Annual State of Tourism Report for 2009/10. To date a proposal
to develop the state of tourism was developed and data sourcing had commenced.
A target had been set for a framework to be approved for the percentage
compliance with sector monitoring and evaluation. A draft monitoring and
evaluation framework for the National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS) had had
been developed.
In terms of creating an enabling policy and legislative environment for
tourism growth and development, the department had intended for tourism related
policies / strategies / legislation to be finalized. A draft bill has been
approved by MinMEC and the Minister for Cabinet. Comments from the State Law
Advisor had been received. The number of tourism policies / strategies achieved
had been met. The target set and those achieved was 2.
To support local government tourism growth and development, the target
for the number of district and local municipalities supported to develop
tourism plans, strategies and programmes was set at 3. The department had for
efficiency purposes clustered the districts per province. All districts in 3
provinces (
Regarding human capital management
and development, the department staff complement is at 310 persons. Workforce
representativity as at the end of 2010/11 financial year reflected the
following percentages: Africans (83%), Colourds (6%), Indians (3%), and Whites
(8%).
Africans at senior management level are at (64%), women at senior
management level are at (53%), and people with disabilities are at (2%) of the
department workforce. Staff turnover rate is at (9%).
4.
Analysis of
Section 32 Expenditure Reports
The aggregate spending and allocations: At the end of the 2010/11
financial year, the department spent R1.1 billion or 97 per cent of the total
budget of R1.2 billion.
Economic
classification spending trends
Goods and
Services: The goods and services budget allocation increased from R98 million to
R118 million, of which 96 per cent was spent by year end.
Current
Payments: The department has spent R214 million or 98 per cent of its current
payments allocation.
Transfers
and subsidies: At the end of the 2010/11 financial year, the
department transferred R913 million or 98 per cent. Transfers and subsidies
amounted to 80 per cent of the department’s expenditure by year end.
A breakdown of the spending trends for each of the programmes reflects
the following:
4.1
Programme 1:
Administration
Spending in this programme amounts to R170 million which is 90 per cent
of the total allocation. The slow spending is due to unspent funds committed to
the department’s new head office building (R19 million) for use in the 2011/12
financial year. This was requested as a rollover was and approved by National
Treasury.
4.2
Programme 2:
Tourism Development
The R307 million or 94 per cent of the allocated R328 million was spent
by the end of the fourth quarter. The slow spending was due to funds relating
to Extended Public Works Programme Incentive (R21 million) which was not
authorized for withdrawal by the Department of Public Works due to poor
performance.
4.3
Programme 3:
Tourism Growth
The R653 million or 100 per cent of the appropriated budget for this
programme was spent. A large portion of these funds (97 per cent) went to South
African Tourism.
4.4
Programme 4:
Policy, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation
The R13 million or 100 per cent was spent by the end of the financial
year.
5.
Analysis of
the Department’s Annual Report and Financial Statements
The
Department acknowledges the contribution of the 2010 FIFA World Cup towards the
surpassed growth targets in terms of arrivals and Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
contribution. There is also mention of the enhancement of the Black Economic
Empowerment (BEE) Charter through the establishment of compliance monitoring
systems. These systems are critical in achieving
the goal of transforming the tourism industry and it is along those lines that
a study to assess transformation in the industry was commissioned.[6]
The Department has also gone further by incorporating an element that seeks to
assist young people who have an interest in the tourism industry to gain the
relevant experience; and for such, the Youth Chef programme was initiated and
the training of 14 000 volunteers was concluded. The overall achievements of
the Tourism Programme include the following:[7]
.
·
The launch of the National Tourism
Sector Strategy (NTSS) which will be used as a tool to accelerate inclusive
tourism industry growth from 2010 to 2015.
·
The training of 14 000 youths as
tourism ambassadors prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
·
The 6.6 percent positive tourism
growth experienced, with tourist arrivals growing by 15.1 per cent as a result
of the 2010 FIFA World Cup during the 2010/2011 financial year.
·
Positive media coverage of the
ministry and the Department as a whole.
·
The creation of 8090 fulltime
equivalent jobs.
·
The creation of 25 390 accredited
training person days through MTEF Baseline Budget and creation of 6050
accredited training person days through MTEF Wage Incentive to improve the
capacity and skills of employees employed under the Social Responsibility
projects.
·
The growing popularity of domestic
tourism among South Africans and 79 per cent of the South African tourist
volumes was derived from domestic tourism. An increase in the frequency, length
of stay and overall spend was experienced.
·
The successful hosting of the Imvelo
Awards and the Hospitality Investment Conference for Africa (HICA) was achieved
in partnership with the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa
(FEDHASA) and the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA)
respectively.
·
The Department surpassed all targets
with respect to human capital management and development. This is commendable
as it will hopefully allow for the quick and efficient roll out of programmes.
·
The successful hosting of the 2010
Indaba which was the biggest event in the African tourism calendar with a
turnout of 1813 exhibitors.
·
A revision of the grading criteria,
which will greatly assist in curbing corrupt practices in the hospitality
sector and assist industry to be a global player in terms of service standards.
·
Training of enterprises received a
lot of attention as enterprises were more upfront and interested in tourism
opportunities and competitiveness training. In addition, more enterprises were
supported to the start-up project stage.
·
Skills availability in the sector
has been a challenge but the Department managed to meet about 60 percent of its
targets with respect to skills development.
·
The Department also successfully
ensured that a substantial increase was recorded with regards to the rand value
of annual transactional linkages between SMMEs and established tourism
enterprises that were created.
·
Efficient utilisation of the new
tourist guide registration system was achieved, with 25% of tourist guides
effectively transferred to the new system.
·
The achievements acquired with
regards to product development in the sector, and the support of SMMEs through
programmes such as the Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
(ETEYA), and Identity Development Funding (IDF) and business workshops are
impressive and a step towards the expansion of the tourism sector in the
country.
Whereas the
Department has managed to register a number of victories they still have some
challenges that must be addressed for the industry to realise its potential and
these challenges include:[8]
·
The department failed to meet their
target in relation to the percentage of negotiated international agreements on
tourism growth, development and knowledge services signed - the target was not
met and the Department has conveniently shifted the delay in meeting targets
onto other parties.
·
The department also failed to meet its
target with regards to the percentage of participation and representation in
the international forums.
·
Getting establishments to adopt and
implement universal accessibility minimum requirements.
·
The targets with regards to the
percentage of New Partnerships for
·
The failure to meet the set targets
with regard to the number of fulltime equivalent jobs created. The Department
failed to attract enough projects in order for the set target to be realised.
·
The inexcusable failure of the
Department with regards to the implementation and monitoring of the Expanded
Public Works Programme.
·
Although a number of SMMEs have been
graded with the assistance of TEP, the standards are not truly reflective of
what the grading process should reflect. This then raises questions about the
quality of the grading process.
·
The delayed progress made by the
Department with respect to the quality of tourism product and services is
worrisome, as the Department has also decided to defer other responsibilities
to the 2011/2012 financial year.
6.
Consideration
of Report of Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA)
For the year under review, the department did not receive any invitation
to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. The SCOPA
prioritizes departments which received a qualified audit opinion or which had
disclaimer or received an adverse audit opinion from the Auditor General.
7. COMMITTEE’S
OBSERVATIONS
For the year under review, the committee interacted with a number of
government departments, public entities and tourism industry stakeholders. In
all these engagements, the committee made the following observations:
7.1 Institutional arrangements: The
implementation of the Tourism Growth Strategy requires substantial
institutional support, as the Constitution defines tourism as a Schedule 4
competence. This therefore, means that national and provincial governments
jointly have authority over tourism activities. This implies that national and
provincial governments have the power to structure and arrange tourism at national
and provincial levels, while adhering to the principles of cooperative
governance. Tourism should be institutionalized at local government level.
7.2 Tourism and Local Government: Local
government does not have legislative and / or regulatory powers pertaining to
tourism, but local tourism is a local authority function. Local authorities are
important contributors to the success of tourism activities in terms of
community driven tourism philosophy. Their efforts should be coordinated within
the provincial tourism strategy.
7.3 Provincial and Local Tourism Authorities: Like in
most other countries, South Africa needs to create a culture of more domestic
travel as that is the biggest contributor to sustainable businesses and jobs in
the tourism industry.
7.4 Tourism Budgets: The
successful implementation of the tourism growth strategy requires substantial
financial resources. The current national and provincial tourism budgets are
extremely limited and do not allow for the successful implementation of the
tourism strategy. It also does not compare favourably with the budgets of other
countries, such as
7.5 Domestic tourism growth strategy: Domestic
tourism focus had been on the upper-middle class of society in the past,
therefore the department’s strategy should be finalized as soon as it is
practically possible so that domestic tourism should form the backbone of
tourism in
7.6 Marketing: The committee found that
using the existing or limited marketing budget allocated for tourism, posed
various challenges to the ability of the provinces and municipalities to
optimize on the opportunities.
7.7 Safety and Security of tourists: Research
confirms that this represents the biggest deterrent to aggressively growing
tourist arrivals to
7.8 Strengthen partnerships: Within the
provincial tourism industry, a number of important interventions to enable
tourism growth. A provincial structure to enhance this partnership, and to
create an effective communication channel between the different tourism
structures in the province, is proposed to enhance the provincial growth
strategy and local government assistance where applicable.
7.9 Land Reform / Restitution processes: The
prolonged land reform processes, linked to inadequate after care programmes in
the wildlife and tourism business sector hampers investment opportunities in
tourism sector.
7.10
Lack of adequate integrated land use planning:
At provincial level, this has contributed to and resulted in
uncoordinated development that directly impacts on provincial tourism icons and
therefore on tourism growth.
7.11
Signage: Poor secondary road
infrastructure and proper signage impacts on the access to tourism products
based in rural areas.
7.12
Skills Development: The
committee found that there is a need for dedicated resources to be set aside to
recapitalize FET colleges. This is to ensure that they develop and offer
appropriate training programmes to support rural economies with tourism being
at the centre of development. There is a need to support FET colleges and
Sector Education and Training Authorities to be linked to business, industry
and other advanced education and training programmes.
7.13
Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs): All spheres
of government should work towards strengthening competitiveness and promotion
of SMMEs and cooperatives as they remain the cornerstone for growth of the
economy and the creation of decent work opportunities.
Government to facilitate market access and entry into value chain by small
business and cooperatives and reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses.
7.14
Provincial and Local Government capacity: There is a need for
improvement of provincial and local government capacity to plan for and
maintain infrastructure to ensure continued efficient delivery of economic and
social services.
8. Conclusion
The Committee has expressed
satisfaction across the board that the Department and SA Tourism received unqualified
audit reports. This is the first-ever presentation of the Annual Report of the
newly formed department. Following, the announcement by President Jacob Zuma in
May 2009 that the Department of Tourism should be a standalone department, the
mandate of the National Department of Tourism broadened as the Tourism sector
has been identified as a job driver in
During the presentation, the
Committee was taken through programmes and policies aimed at increasing jobs
and entrepreneurial opportunities in the tourism sector. The department reported that 8,090 full-time equivalent jobs were created from
the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) Baseline Budget.
In
addition the Department succeeded in its employment equity targets, ensuring
representation of designated groups in the workforce. The committee recognises the strides
that have been made by the department, but on the issue of transformation and
ownership need to be speeded up. However cognisance is taken of the fact that
this not just the responsibility of the Department but also other
role-players.
Whilst the Committee commended the department
for excelling in human capital development; it also posed the question as to
whether this was happening at provincial and local level. The committee noted that the Department spent
96% of its total budget in this financial year.
The Committee also expressed its
wish to interact with the Auditor-General and request that they audit national,
provincial, local and entities to ensure that they use the graded
establishments as per the Cabinet directive. This is important when viewed
against the background that Tourism has been identified by government as a
critical sector in the South African economy, particularly because of its
potential for contributing to job creation.
Although concern was raised by the
Committee that the jobs creation projects under the Expanded Public Works Program
(EPWP) projects, were not all achieved and money would be returned to National Treasury,
the Committee accepted the explanation that the EPWP funding was ring fenced
and Treasury regulations required that it could not be utilised for any other
purposes.
The Committee further noted the
institution of a forensic audit by the Department into the management of EPWP
projects by third parties and would follow progress around developments with
interest. Preliminary investigations had already resulted in charges being laid
against one individual and a further
three are still pending.
9. Recommendations
9.1 Leadership
The committee notes with concern the lack of monitoring controls to
ensure adherence to contractual requirements and internal controls over the expanded
public works programme that were not sufficient to detect and prevent control
deviations and non-compliance with laws.
The department should put measures in place to deal with this challenge
and report to the committee.
9.2 Governance
The committee notes the existing concerns about the nature, extent and
frequency of management’s assessment of controls in place, relating to the
expanded public works programme, to prevent and detect fraudulent activities.
The committee recommends that it be updated regularly on some of governance
issues, particularly on EPWP projects.
9.3 Investigations
·
The committee notes and is in support of the forensic
investigations initiated by the accounting officer of the department in respect
of the EPWP projects and would follow the investigations with keen interest;
and
·
The criminal cases that have been opened with South
African Police Service (SAPS) in respect of the EPWP projects.
·
The department should take the necessary precautionary
measures to save public funds.
9.4 Tourism Budget
The Department of Tourism and South African Tourism should receive a
higher budgetary allocation, given the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup; the
need to develop domestic tourism growth – which is less prone to international
fluctuations as recent experiences like H1N1 flu epidemic and the Iceland
volcano ash have shown; the emergence of new markets like Brazil, India and
China which would need more resources to promote and the higher focus on
tourism that has been indicated by government promoting tourism into a fully fledged department. These
increases in the expenditure will be offset by revenue that will be generated
by the increase in tourism.
9.5 Extended Public Works Programme projects
·
Progress on cooperative work between the Department of
Tourism and the Department of Public Works should focus towards identifying
projects that would have maximum benefit to poor communities.
·
There should also be greater focus on monitoring the
outputs and outcomes of the EPWP as it holds the potential for poverty relief
and providing first level skills and opportunity for productive citizenry.
9.6 Use of graded establishments by
government departments
The Committee notes the complaints received from other tourism industry
stakeholders that despite having graded their establishments they are not
receiving any businesses from local, provincial and national government, yet
some which are not graded continue to enjoy business from state departments.
In order to encourage SMMEs and other tourism enterprises to register businesses
in terms of the new grading system, the use of graded establishments by
government departments is encouraged or the Cabinet directive of 2006 would need
to be enforced.
9.7 Intergovernmental relations
Tourism is a concurrent competence, and requires good coordination and
mutual support between the three spheres of government, particularly in view of
the diverse nature of tourism.
·
The national, provincial and local governments should
place more emphasis on the important role of municipalities in developing
tourism, and the extra-ordinary contribution this sector would make to
socio-economic development; and
·
An integrated approach should be established by the
three spheres of government to enhance their relationship and coordination.
9.8 Job creation at local level
The committee notes that tourism is a demand-driven sector; therefore
the volume and value of demand inform investment in supply and job creation.
·
The maintenance and development of public tourist
attractions should be prioritized.
·
Provision of public infrastructure supporting local
economic development and tourism is improved. Municipalities should focus on
Local Economic Development (LEDs) initiatives that are skills creating,
employment generating and domestic production and consumption promoting. In
this regard Local Government should be strengthened and resourced to support
local entrepreneurs.
·
Provision of public amenities such as parking,
ablution facilities, public transportation be made where necessary.
·
Local and district municipalities maintain the general
safety, cleanliness and beautification of the local area.
9.9 Local
government
For the municipalities to be able to deliver on tourism targets, the
committee recommends the following:
·
The intensification of effective tourism planning and
capacity on tourism planning is critical and should be prioritized.
·
The integration of local initiatives (IDPs) with
provincial and national strategic frameworks.
·
The provision of tourism support services, such as
human capital development for the sector at local level; and
·
Synergic linkages should be developed at all spheres
of government so as to promote local tourism activities, organizations and
strategic partnerships.
9.10 Signage and road infrastructure
The committee notes the poor road signage and proper infrastructure impact
negatively on access to tourism products, especially in rural areas.
·
The cooperative work between the Department of Tourism
and the Department of Transport be reported to the committee within three
months after the adoption of this report.
9.11 Transformation of tourism sector
The committee notes that the tourism sector in the country is mostly
private sector-driven and the role of private should not be undermined as it
plays a huge role in the growth and development of the sector.
The committee recommends that department should:
·
Accelerate transformation of the sector to be at the
centre of departmental programmes in the medium term;
·
Ensure that the benefits of tourism are equitably
shared amongst South Africans.
·
Take specific initiatives for empowerment of youth,
women and people with disabilities through enterprise, entrepreneurship and
people development; and
·
Take deliberate actions to support implementation of
BBBEE as well as assisting to form Public Private Partnerships that would allow
SMMEs in the sector to grow.
9.12 Geographic spread
The
department should place more emphasis on the importance of growing domestic
tourism in order to sustain the industry and create more sustainable jobs. This
would also address the geographic spread and seasonality aspects. It is also
necessary to grow the
10. Appreciation
The
committee would like to extend special appreciation to the Ministry, the
Director General, programme managers and heads of entities for providing
support to the committee throughout the financial year.
Report to be considered.