Tributes poured in from members of the tourism industry following the passing of the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela on Thursday, December 5. Below are some of the sentiments shared by those who mourned him.
“Mr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, born July 18 1918 in the Transkei, transformed the hopes and lives of all South Africans and symbolised freedom in a time of tyranny in apartheid South Africa. The work Madiba tirelessly and unselfishly, at the expense of his freedom, strived for provides the whole nation today a lasting legacy and pedestal to opportunity and equality. We owe everything to this great man who left us last night with a legacy and opportunity to carry on his work. His work of love, freedom, hope, benevolence, and forgiveness. There are not enough words to describe you Mr. Mandela. You are more than a hero! And you stay alive in our hearts. We promise to uphold your wish of sustaining and developing what you have made. The Tourism Business Council of South Africa joins the entire country, and the world, in mourning your passing and grieving in our loss. Goodbye to a legend.
- Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA)
“Nelson Mandela single-handedly put South Africa on the map for billions of people around the world. Travel anywhere and say you are from South African and without a doubt the first word people will utter is ‘Mandela’. This is because he is not only a hero for all South Africans, forever changing the course of our combined history, but also because his incredible leadership ability, compassion and vision made him a hero for the whole world, earning him iconic status in every country on earth. Mandela opened up our beautiful country, once a pariah state, to the rest of the world and his name alone has attracted millions of tourists to South Africa every year, wanting to walk in his footsteps.Nelson Mandela will be sorely missed forever by every South African. We are however heartened that South Africans and the rest of the world can continue to be inspired and touched by him by visiting the places where he walked, talked, planned, dreamed, laughed, cried and ultimately changed the course of South Africa and the world’s history.”
– Thulani Nzima, ceo of SA Tourism.
"Madiba held a special place in our hearts and knowing that Table Mountain shone like a beacon during his years of incarceration on Robben Island filled us with immense pride, but also with sadness, that a man of his stature had to sacrifice so much, so that all of South Africa could be free. We salute you Madiba for everything you did for us. And, for generations to come, as our visitors stare out across Table Bay toward Robben Island they will remember the sacrifices you made for our country. Hamba Kahle Tata Madiba.”
- Sabine Lehmann, md of Table Mountain Cableway Company
"It is befitting to pass our heartfelt condolences to Madiba’s family and the country as a whole. He played a significant role in the formation of the Transfrontier Conservation Area concept and personally agreed to be a special patron of the Peace Parks Foundation which saw the establishment of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area linking, the Kruger National Park in South Africa, Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, the Gonarezhou National Park, Manjini Pan Sanctuary and Malipati Safari Area in Zimbabwe as well as the Makuleke region of South Africa. Nelson Mandela, speaking at the handover of 1000 elephants on the border between South Africa and Mozambique in 2001, said in a world beset by division, he knows of no philosophy or ideology that does not agree with the Peace Park concept. Our deepest condolences go to the Mandela family and every single South African in this dark hour. May we all be reminded of the sacrifices that Madiba made in shaping the future of our country Lala ngoxolo Tata Madiba."
- David Mabunda, ceo of SANParks
“Madiba stepped out of his personal experiences to show the world what international statesmanship really means – and proved to the world the South African could worth together despite huge historical differences. His contribution to South Africa’s acceptance in the international arena, post 1994, has been immense and as the business events industry we continue to reap the benefits.”
– Zelda Coetzee, SAACI national chairperson
