Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has welcomed Cabinet’s concurrence of the Tourism Sector Masterplan, which was gazetted on Friday.
“Implementing the masterplan will create opportunities for inclusive participation of all sectors of society, including women, youth and people with disabilities. This plan also gives impetus to the recovery and sustained growth of the sector,” said de Lille.
Due to its multiplier effect, labour intensity and value chain that creates significant employment opportunities, tourism is recognised as a priority sector of the South African economy.
The sector’s interlinkages with other economic sectors provides business opportunities for Small, Micro to Medium Enterprises, which is why it was identified as one of seven key sectors in South Africa's Re-Imagining Industrial Strategy, approved by Cabinet in 2019.
This is the basis upon which the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (TSRP) was converted into a comprehensive Tourism Sector Masterplan.
The conversion of the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan into the Tourism Sector Masterplan was one of the key priorities given to Minister de Lille by President Cyril Ramaphosa as part of her performance agreement. This priority has now been achieved, said the department.
“The masterplan aims to galvanise industry, labour and government to collectively act on a shared vision, identify priorities, and deliver economic activity and jobs for all South Africans,” de Lille said.
As the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan has a lifespan of three years, from 2021/22 to 2023/24, the department had embarked on a process to convert the TSRP into the Tourism Sector Masterplan. “This entailed the integration of all TSRP interventions into the Tourism Sector Masterplan, with the extension of the timeframe for implementation up to the 2025/26 financial year,” the Minister said.
Additionally, the vision, mission, guiding principles and values of the National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS) 2016 – 2026 were adopted.
Institutional and governance responsibilities for developing and implementing the masterplan were added in accordance with the masterplan guidelines to prepare, develop and implement the masterplan.
The TSRP was a three-year, highly focused intervention and product of collaboration with key stakeholders from the government, the private sector and other social partners aimed at mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism economy and charting a roadmap for recovery.
It proposed various measures to protect and rejuvenate supply, reignite demand and strengthen enabling capability for tourism recovery.
Overall, the plan proposed seven strategic interventions underpinned by specific actions aimed at helping the sector recover to pre-pandemic levels and positioning the sector for long-term sustainable growth.
The plan is aligned to the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), in particular to the ERRP's priorities in the areas of employment creation, infrastructure investment, green economy or sustainability interventions inclusion of women and youth as well as skills development.
The Tourism Sector Masterplan is available on the department’s website at: www.tourism.gov.za and a copy of the gazette can also be viewed on: https://www.tourism.gov.za/AboutNDT/Publications/Government%20Gazette%20Number%2049503%20-%20Tourism%20Sector%20Masterplan.pdf. – SAnews.gov.za
