Delegates at this weekend’s SATSA Conference – held in Durban from May 6-8 – were the first to hear that COO of South African Tourism, Nomasonto Ndlovu, had been appointed Acting CEO of the organisation.
This came after news of previous Acting CEO, Themba Khumalo’s resignation (with immediate effect) on Friday (May 5). Khumalo has reportedly accepted an international post in the US.
New Chairperson of the interim SA Tourism Board, Tim Harris, addressed SATSA conference delegates, noting that there had been some challenges at SA Tourism (and other state-owned entities) – following the dissolution of the Board and the fact that many of the current Exco members were in acting roles.
“However, the Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, and I met with the team on Friday and I have every confidence in them. I believe, through proper, structured engagement between private sector and government, we can move quickly and efficiently to achieve quick wins.”
Harris agreed with SATSA CEO, David Frost, that the political reset with a new tourism minister would deliver results.
“I have personal experience with De Lille, who is a force to be reckoned with and will, in conjunction with the interim SA Tourism and the SA Tourism team, get that spark reignited,” he said.
He noted that De Lille had been extensively consulting with the private sector through industry organisations such as the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) and SATSA – a fact confirmed by Frost – and that the Minister had committed to approaching the Minister of Finance for more funding for SA Tourism, “should she see good progress”.
Ndlovu and TBCSA CEO, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, further cemented the message of collaboration – in line with the SATSA conference theme of ‘Partnerships for Action’ – by noting that the Memorandum of Understanding between SA Tourism and the TBCSA would be closely followed to ensure that the marketing of Destination SA was done in collaboration with the private sector.
“We all have to work together to inform the Minister of what she needs to do in a manner that is participative, inclusive and delivers results,” said Tshivhengwa, highlighting that the target, set by President Cyril Ramaphosa, of 21 million visitors to South Africa by 2030, still stood.
“We may have adjusted the target to 15.6 million visitors – given the COVID-19 realities we faced, and still face, as a sector – but we still aspire to the 21 million goal.”
‘Hunt as a pack’
“We will evaluate each market and see how we can align our marketing and hunt together as a pack – as David Frost says,” he said.
Ndlovu affirmed this message by noting that the time for flirting was over. “It is now a committed marriage with a target – where we have to give a monthly progress report to the Minister on what has been achieved.”
She said she was excited for Africa’s Travel Indaba 2023 – which kicks off in Durban tomorrow (May 9) – which would provide a further platform to take the partnership between government and the private sector to the next level.
One of the initiatives by SA Tourism, Ndlovu said, was to create digital playbooks (on the SA Tourism trade website) for 24 of South Africa’s key source markets. “These will empower our trade partners with a strong guide on how to sell to these markets.”
