The upcoming Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit at the end of the year is anticipated to significantly enhance the tourism sector’s contribution to economic growth and job creation.
This is according to the International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Ronald Lamola, who shared this perspective while responding to a parliamentary question about his department’s strategy to leverage South Africa’s G20 Presidency to create sustainable benefits for the economy, particularly for small businesses in townships and rural areas.
“By hosting G20 meetings across all provinces, South Africa aims to achieve a considerable economic boost, attracting tens of thousands of delegates and support staff from major global economies to provinces throughout its year-long Presidency,” he told Members of Parliament (MPs).
South Africa assumed the Chair of the G20 on 1 December 2023, taking over from Brazil.
The G20 consists of 19 countries, along with the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), which joined last year.
This group brings together the world’s major and systemically important economies.
The Minister believes that this surge in tourism presents significant opportunities for South African provinces and cities to showcase their cultural heritage and tourism potential.
According to Lamola, South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 is anticipated to be one of the largest national projects, requiring whole-of-government and society participation.
From 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025, South Africa will host well over 100 in-person meetings across the country.
“Firstly, the G20 will boost South Africa’s tourism sector, increasing employment and allowing provinces to showcase their cultural treasures.”
The Minister highlighted that the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) reported that South Africa’s tourism sector employed 1.46 million people in 2023.
This number is expected to increase to 1.7 million jobs soon, driven by a targeted initiative aimed at significantly boosting employment over the next five years.
He also mentioned that WTTC statistics showed that tourism’s direct and indirect contribution to South Africa’s GDP was 8.2% in 2023, with expectations to rise to 8.8% in 2024.
In addition, it also allows for a demonstration of the nation’s advancements across multiple sectors.
According to Lamola, the G20 meetings are anticipated to generate considerable economic benefits, creating many direct and indirect jobs during and beyond this period.
The Minister believes that Africa’s G20 Presidency offers an opportunity to promote inclusive growth, combat poverty, and ensure sustainable development.
“Ultimately, the high-level deliverables and priorities identified for South Africa’s G20 Presidency will benefit South Africa at the national, continental, and global levels.
“The G20 serves as a strategic platform for South Africa to lobby for policies aimed at advancing the three strategic priorities of the seventh administration.”
These include driving inclusive growth and job creation, reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living, and building a capable, ethical, and developmental State.
In addition, South Africa’s second priority under its G20 Presidency is ensuring debt sustainability for developing economies.
“In pursuing this, South Africa aims to see greater urgency in addressing the debt and solvency challenges many countries face, determining clear solutions to mobilise low-cost financing for development.
This approach will help reduce debt service costs for developing countries, including South Africa, thereby freeing up spending on essential services such as education, healthcare, and the infrastructure needed for economic development,” he told MPs.
Meanwhile, he said the nation seeks to leverage its G20 Presidency by promoting “harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and development.”
“South Africa calls for a G20 framework on green industrialisation and investments to ensure progress towards a grand bargain that adds value to critical minerals, particularly near the source of extraction.”
He believes that promoting the beneficiation and local value addition of resources at the source will result in a more additive rather than extractive relationship.
“As mineral extraction accelerates to meet the energy transition needs, the countries and local communities endowed with these rich resources must be the primary beneficiaries,” he added. – SAnews.gov.za
