National Tourism Stakeholder Forum
Private Sector Perspective of Progress
Mr Marc Corcoran
Tourism Business Council of South Africa
CSIR, Pretoria
17 September 2014
Table of Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
State of the Industry – Private Sector Perspective
NTSS Progress Report
Market Opportunities
Conclusion
State of the Industry: Global
Latest reports from UNWTO show that international tourist
arrivals have increased by 4.6% in the first half of the year globally
Travel & Tourism’s direct contribution to GDP is forecast to grow
at 3.1%, continuing the trend of out-performing the wider economy,
which is set to grow at 2.4% in 2014.
State of the Industry: Regional
The GDP forecast for Africa in 2014 remains unchanged at 4.9%
Our continent’s international arrivals also grew by 3% in the first
half of the year 2014. The Ebola outbreak can jeopardize this
growth in the second half of the year
There is a belief that stronger tourism branding and Africa’s
image can be enhanced to double its international tourist arrivals
by 2030.

State of the Industry: Local
 Local industry remains resilient but prone to domestic economic
risks and externalities
 Q1 2014 TBI is slightly down compared to the Q1 2013
 TBCSA membership growth in the past half of the year – new
members onboard (SACA and BON Hotels)
 TOMSA levy collector base remains stagnant even though
tourism levies collected continue to grow annually
Progress Report: CLUSTER 1
Research, Information & Knowledge
 TBI remains private sector’s main tool to measure
performance
 TBCSA and SAT are putting together a Tourism
Dashboard planned to be launched in September 2014. South
African Tourism to give an update
 TBCSA and TEP to work together to populate content on
wiki-tourism
Progress Report: CLUSTER 1
Policy and Legislative Framework
 B-BBEE: Sub-committee formed by TBCSA to prepare for
TECSA engagement and comment on proposed Tourism
scorecard. Concerns about the engagement process remain.
New Travel Regulations – Decision by DHA, after active
engagement by TBCSA with DHA, to defer the requirement to
carry unabridged certificates when travelling abroad with children
under the age of 18 is most welcome. A joint task team between
DHA and TBCSA has been formed to engage further on
regulations.
 ASATA, FEDHASA and SAVRALA engaging with Treasury to
address travel spend concerns.
Progress Report: CLUSTER 1
Policy and Legislative Framework
Challenges business face:
 Policy changes - industry has limited capacity to respond to
the many regulatory and policy changes which require
comment.
SARS accessing company bank accounts and delays in
returning payments that were incorrectly retrieved
 Vehicle licensing and permit issues – inconsistency of application in
provinces and enforcement
Proposed introduction of the KwaZulu Natal 10% Hospitality levy in
2015. Task team formed in KZN with TBCSA and SATSA
PENDING LEGISLATIVE AWARENESS??
Progress Report: CLUSTER 1
Collaborative Partnerships
 NDT and TBCSA – ongoing partnership
Hosting of Tourism Leadership Dialogues
Hosting of the Tourism Public Lecture at UNISA
To host the inaugural Women in Tourism Conference taking
place on the 08-09 October 2014
Maintain close relations with counterparts in the region
(RETOSA) and with WTTC at an international level
Progress Report: CLUSTER 2.1
Marketing and Brand Management
 TOMSA levy collections by private sector contribute to
destination marketing ; since inception to date – over R1billion has
been collected and paid over to SA Tourism. MOU under review
 Business uploading deals on shotleft website to encourage
domestic travel
 Tour operators and wholesalers are encouraged to tailor
packages to different segments such as stockvels, school groups,
couples etc
 PHASA to meet with SA Tourism CEO to discuss SA as a
hunting destination
Progress Report: CLUSTER 2.1
Domestic and Regional Tourism
 Industry committed to working closely with Government to
address issues such as product pricing, packaging, seasonality
and geographic spread
 Visa issues continue to negatively impact on both business and
leisure trade – particularly affecting India, China, UK and
Nigeria. Government intervention required.
Business Events
 TBCSA committed to supporting Tourism Indaba.
 SAACI hosted annual conference at St Lucia
Progress Report: CLUSTER 2.2
Relevant Capacity Building
 FEDHASA currently working on a business plan for a Youth
programme to be launched in 2015
Niche – product development and Rural Tourism
 SATSA collaborating with NDT to develop regulations for the
adventure tourism sector
 AHI has formed a new awards programme “Polish the
Countryside”
Progress Report: CLUSTER 2.2
Product Information
 AHI is currently working together with local Chambers of
Commerce to train information centre staff across the country;
Project started in in Mpumalanga in 2013
Responsible Tourism
 FTT, NAA-SA and FEDHASA have been leading private
sector’s activities in this area
FTT partnered with TEP in supporting tourism enterprises to
prepare and apply for certification
Progress Report: CLUSTER 2.2
Investment Promotion
 HICA (Hotel Investment Conference), held at Maslow Hotel on
14-16 September remains private sector’s main vehicle for
investment promotion
Quality Assurance
 Serious concerns with current grading system. Industry awaits
revised strategy presented to SA Tourism board Lekgotla in
August 2014.(nb:Govt policy to only use graded accommodation?)
 Tourism and Hospitality chambers within CATHSSETA
reviewed the curriculum. The document was open for public
comments
Progress Report: CLUSTER 3
Transformation
 EXSA – TBCSA member released the state of transformation
for the exhibition and events sector and identified areas that need
improvement. TBCSA to request other sector associations to put
together a similar document – to measure progress in
transformation of each sector
Service Excellence
 Business continues to offer in-house training programmes to
improve service levels
NDT and TBCSA completed a pilot project in Upington. Media
event to celebrate the success of the project
took place on the 04th September 2014
Progress Report: CLUSTER 4
General tourism awareness amongst South Africans
Private sector is positively contributing to the domestic
marketing campaign by putting together affordable packages
Safety & Security
 TSI – currently implemented in partnership with Gauteng
Tourism Authority. It is intended that TSI be embraced by NDT
and all provinces.
Progress Report: CLUSTER 4
Ground Transportation
 DoT – National Land Transport Act (NLTA) presented for review
at NEDLAC with partners. Not previously discussed at NTSS
SABOA - vehicle licence fees differ from province to province
with significant differences. Uniform licence fee for buses and
coaches in all provinces is encouraged.
Bad road conditions increase maintenance cost of buses &
coaches. Roads to tourism key points needs focus
Progress Report: CLUSTER 4
Airlift
DoT is leading the review of the 2006 Airlift Strategy. Focus on
further liberalisation of air transport services for SA
Domestic airlines
FlySafair – due to commence operations in October 2014
Skywise – now unlikely to start operating in the short term
Fastjet – still interested in operating domestic services and may
begin operations by the end of 2014
Market Opportunities
 Universal Accessibility – tapping into the market of people with
disabilities
 Climate Change – embracing the green economy
 Land Claims – speedy resolution
 Transformation & Empowerment – broadening economic
participation of all citizens
 Growing middle-class across emerging markets – in Africa and
BRICS countries
 Domestic market – entrenching a culture of local leisure travel
 Youth – a reservoir of talent
Conclusion
 Tourism in SA continues to develop but remains vulnerable to
both domestic (eg: legislation, economy) and external factors (eg:
terrorism, ebola)
 TBCSA members remain resource challenged to effectively
address the multitude of legislation requiring response
 NTSS review welcome to ensure efforts can be more focused
and expectations of respective stakeholders clarified
 TBCSA to consider developing direct relationships with several
other key Government Depts; eg Home Affairs, Transport ,
Finance, Trade and Industry
 TBCSA committed to a successful tourism
industry
THANK YOU