MINISTRY OF TOURISM
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE OFFICE OF MR MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK,
MINISTER OF TOURISM
Minister launches Cruise Tourism Report
Strategies for the development of niche tourism products such as cruise tourism are important
elements of the comprehensive plan to position tourism as one of the six key sectors of
economic growth in South Africa, Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said today.
Minister van Schalkwyk was speaking at the launch of a report on cruise tourism in South Africa
on the MSC Sinfonia in the Durban harbour. “The development of cruise tourism as a niche
market would further enhance South Africa’s reputation as a world class and globally
competitive tourism destination. The global cruise tourism industry has experienced significant
growth over the last three decades, expanding from 1.4 million passenger carryings in 1980 to
an estimated 15.4 million by 2009,” Minister van Schalkwyk said.
Minister van Schalkwyk said over the past two decades tourism had emerged as a fast
growing and valuable services sector in the South Africa economy. “The latest tourist
arrival figures show that South Africa has continued to outperform competitors and that
our tourism sector has proved resilient against fairly poor global economic conditions.
“The figures for tourist arrivals show that from January to August this year our tourist
arrivals were more than 5.2 million (5 286 003), which is an increase of 17.4% compared
to the first eight months of 2009.
“We experienced growth from all our major market regions, with increases in arrivals of
11% from Europe, 25.1% from North America, 159.4% from Central and South America,
23.4% from Australasia, 37.4% from Asia, 21.8% from the Middle East and 13.6% from the
rest of the African continent” , Minister van Schalkwyk said.
“The important role tourism has to play in economic growth and job creation has again
been emphasised by the fact that it is now one of the six key growth pillars of the
country.
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“We know tourism is an important driver of both domestic consumer spending and foreign
exchange earnings. It is underpinned by a sustainable resource base, labour intensive activities
and relatively low barriers of entry for entrepreneurs. Tourism has now been prioritised as one
of the cornerstones of growth in the economy.
“The National Department of Tourism will help position the tourism sector in such a manner that
its economic benefits become a reality to all South Africans. In this regard we are exploring
various avenues to ensure that we increase our global competitiveness and one of these is the
identification and further development of niche markets,” Minister van Schalkwyk said.
The Minister said cruise tourism was one of the areas identified for further investigation and in
this regard a study had been commissioned. The project was conducted under the stewardship
of a National Steering Committee, which represented all stakeholders in the field including port
cities and provinces, the National Department of Public Enterprises, the National Ports Authority
and Transnet.
“The NDT will continue to engage with the industry as well as other government departments
and entities on how to address constraints, facilitate passenger transit, encourage cruise
passengers to visit port cities and the surrounding areas and ultimately increase economic
opportunities for communities in and around coastal cities,” Minister van Schalkwyk said.
“In terms of the development of this sector it is our responsibility as government to market
destination South Africa, to ensure service excellence and facilitate the provision of
infrastructure. The responsibility does not, however, rest with government alone. We also need
buy-in from the private sector and in this case particularly the cruise line industry in support of
our economic development goals.
“We will therefore work very closely with the cruise line industry to ensure that packages and
excursions are developed and that passengers are encouraged to visit our shores, enjoy what
we have on offer and inspire other travellers to also visit South Africa,” Minister van Schalkwyk
said.
The full report is available on the NDT website at www.tourism.gov.za.
Ends
Enquiries:
Trevor Bloem
National Department of Tourism
Tel:
+2712 310 3631
+27 82 771 6729
[email protected]
Ronel Bester
Ministry of Tourism
Tel:
+2721 465 7240
+2783 242 7763
[email protected]
Natasha Rockman
Ministry of Tourism
Tel:
+2721 465 7240
+2776 429 2264
[email protected]
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