Johannesburg - With the travel and tourism season upon us, Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu has launched a new SA Tourism Summer season campaign to encourage and boost the country’s local tourism industry.
The nation-wide activation called "Gimme Summer That" was unveiled during an event held in Sandton on Tuesday evening.
The minister encouraged both domestic and international travellers to explore all four corners of the country this festive season, adding that after the Covid-19 pandemic slump, the country was ready to host travellers. The event also saw the unveiling of a new television ad campaign aimed at boosting the industry.
Sisulu said that having been appointed right before Covid-19, the sector was badly affected by the pandemic, which brought the sector to a standstill.
The minister said that the 2022 summer will be the first one since the pandemic without Covid-19 restrictions. As a country, she said, "We are poised for the best summer holidays since 2019."
[WATCH 🎥] The ringing of the bell symbolizes the OFFICIAL opening of the summer season, with our nationwide “Gimme Summer That” festive season activation. 💃🏼
— Dept of Tourism (@Tourism_gov_za) December 7, 2022
To our domestic and international travelers, you are invited to explore the beauty that is Mzansi#GimmeSummerShotLeft pic.twitter.com/sQz0KQTLmI
"The same week I was appointed, Covid-19 was the only game in town. The impact of Covid-19 on our people’s well-being and the extent of grief and trauma dominated our people’s lives. As the concomitant factors of grief, restrictions, and lock-downs began to hit more than just the bottom line for operators, others closed their doors. Jobs were lost, the people’s livelihoods destroyed, and the winter of discontent in the leisure industry became palpable," she said.
She said even though the sector is seeing an upward trend in the numbers of travellers following the pandemic, at the height of lock-downs, those numbers plunged.
"According to the Tourism 2020 report released by Statistics SA, foreign arrivals dropped by 71% from just over 15, 8 million in 2019 to less than 5 million in 2020, while the overall number of travellers (arrivals and departures) decreased by 71% during this time," she said.
With 2022 being a year without any travel restrictions, Sisulu said the numbers have greatly improved, with millions of travellers coming in and out of the country in greater numbers than the previous two years. She said total foreign direct spending increased between January and September by more than 1886.6%, which comes to just over R37 billion when compared to the previous year.
"I am glad to say that, as a sector, we pulled together and survived. Now we are poised for unparalleled growth. South African tourism’s rebound post-Covid-19 restrictions and lock-downs is now unstoppable after the October 2022 tourism performance report showed an upward trajectory. On the domestic front, we are cruising, as domestic overnight trips from January to September 2022 reached 23.9 million trips, a 138.6% increase when compared to the same period in 2021," she said.
The Star
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