SOUTH AFRICA: Exploring South Africa

South Africa is a great destination for travelers from the United States: According to data from South African Tourism, the first quarter of 2017 saw a 6.3 percent increase in visitors from the United States to South Africa, compared with the first quarter of 2016.

Airfare prediction app Hopper saw a 36 percent increase in flight searches this spring for travel in the fall to South Africa from the United States, compared with the same period last year.

A vacation to South Africa can be affordable; more trips are being offered at reasonable prices.

Travelers looking for an urban escape, for example, can choose a five-night Captivating Cape Town trip from South African Airways Vacations, which includes a sightseeing tour of the city, a tour of the Cape Peninsula and a tour of the Cape Winelands region. The offer is valid for travel from Aug. 11 to Dec. 9.

From $1,899 a person, it includes round-trip flights from Kennedy International Airport in New York or Washington Dulles International Airport to Johannesburg, internal flights, accommodations, ground transfers, daily breakfast and scheduled tours.

Friendly Planet has a nine-day Taste of South Africa package. Included are four nights in Cape Town and four game drives in Entabeni Safari Conservancy, a reserve known for its abundant wildlife.

Departures available through August 2018. From $1,999 a person, including round-trip flights from Kennedy International Airport or Washington Dulles International Airport to Johannesburg, ground transportation and transfers within South Africa; some meals; sightseeing in Cape Town and game drives.

The tour company Collette is offering the 14-day Spectacular South Africa Culture and Nature in Harmony itinerary. The package covers stays and guided tours in Johannesburg and Cape Town; a safari in Kruger National Park; a stay in the picturesque resort town of Knysna; and a stay in the Cape Winelands region.

Departures available starting in January 2018 through 2019. From $2,649 a person, which includes accommodations, tours and some meals.

Luxury seekers can consider the seven-day Cape’s Labor of Love, a culinary-focused private trip from Immersion Journeys. Travelers stay in both Cape Town and the Cape Winelands region, visit wine, olive oil and cheese producers and enjoy meals in renowned restaurants.

The price, from $3,495 a person, includes upscale accommodations, tours, transfers and some meals.

Only an economy where employment is placed at the centre of economic policy making will work for South Africa. This will require a complete shift in mindset.

To achieve rapid growth, South Africa needs foreign and domestic investment, and that requires confidence in the future, which, in turn, requires stability and political coherence. It needs the involvement of all sectors of society – rural and urban, rich and poor.

That means increasing the supply of skilled workers through improved education and by encouraging inward migration of skilled people and a more flexible labour market. It also means investing in healthcare and infrastructure to increase the productivity of workers.

South Africa should not, of course, abandon its efforts at global change through membership of Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other clubs. But evolution is more likely than revolution, and economic diplomacy is not well served by constantly criticising some of our major trading partners while remaining silent on the excesses of others.

Of these objectives, finding a way to create a more flexible labour market remains the least likely. But an environment needs to be created in which employers are willing to take on new entrants to the labour market so they can accumulate the required work experience to make them valuable and productive employees. This will happen only if employers can also terminate employment contracts under reasonable circumstances.

On a practical level, South Africa need look no further than the 18 million still living in the former homelands who are locked into poverty. In line with the approach advanced by Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto Polar, the transfer of communal to individual private property rights in these areas would empower many rural South Africans.

This way, dead capital would become bankable assets. Most of the land in these areas belongs to the government, and not to the communal leaders. The transfer of land to individual ownership is a prerequisite for rural transformation and growth. Such change requires a modernist government committed to economic growth as a priority, not to the traditionalist policies and ‘big man' leadership of yesteryear.

No growth path will succeed if improvements in productivity don't outpace wage increases. The National Development Plan, explains Nicoli Nattrass at the University of Cape Town, proposes to compensate workers for their wage restraint "by lowering their cost of living … whilst continuing to support skill development and productivity growth in dynamic economic sectors where there is more space for wages to grow without undermining employment or profitability".

However, she says, the "counter-narrative about higher wages necessarily being good for productivity and economic growth is standing in the way of any kind of employment-promoting class compromise in South Africa".

A growth orientated, employment-intensive pathway inevitably means reviewing and cutting back on the 700 or so state-owned enterprises that give a miserly 2.9% average return on investment.

A first step could be to ensure that all these enterprises have proper boards of directors, with the relevant commercial and other expertise, who can run them in a financially responsible manner.

These companies should also be subject to comprehensive and independent performance audits, including tender processes and risk-management frameworks. The results should be made public and form the basis for the newly constituted boards of directors to take things forward.

There are instances where state control and leadership are needed, such as investment in strategic manufacturing sectors, state support of research and development, and so on. But state-owned enterprises in the mainstream economy, such as South African Airways, that perennially under-perform should be self-sustaining or be sold off.

It means ending the subsidies whereby Cuban engineers and medical doctors are imported at great cost to the taxpayer instead of employing South Africans or encouraging skilled inward migration, which is free. It means cutting back on perks for government ministers and officials. It means a state that is committed to quality.

South Africa generally has a higher cost structure than most other countries at comparative levels of development. Government consumption in South Africa is 30% of GDP, roughly double the global average for upper-middle income countries and some 8% higher than the average for high-income countries.

Admittedly, some of this expenditure is due to social grant payments, but nevertheless, the management of South Africa is too expensive. There are too many unproductive senior officials and too few at lower levels who actually do things like teaching, policing and providing health care.

We need a strong, capable state as a regulator of a much larger private sector. The state must be an investor in key sectors to spur innovation, to direct much more research and development funding, and, above all, to channel resources in a manner that deals with the historical legacy of apartheid.

But a strong state doesn't need to be a big state, and the current trend that has seen the steady increase in the size of the civil service while outsourcing core government functions to a network of patronage clients must be reversed.

There are many reforms that could derive greater efficiency from the government and reduce corruption. For example, amendments to laws and the Constitution to remove the powers of the president to appoint directors-general (often against the wishes of ministers) and the requirement for merit-based appointments (including cabinet appointments) based on minimum education qualifications are obvious starting points.

A second reform would be limiting cadre deployment, and instead appointing and promoting senior managers and officials based on merit and qualifications. Then there is the obvious need to reduce the size of the cabinet to probably half its current number, to consolidate ministries and departments, and do away with most deputy ministers.

Other obvious reforms would be to strengthen the legal powers of the Auditor-General to allow for the enforcement of its recommendations. This would help to rein in South Africa's 35 national government departments, nine provinces, 278 municipalities and more than 120 state entities.

Although the Auditor-General enjoys relative freedom in South Africa, institutions are not compelled to heed his audit findings. This too needs to change.



Tourism Observer

SOUTH AFRICA: Eco-tourism Growing The South African Economy

Eco-tourism is growing in popularity and making a greater contribution towards South Africa’s economic growth, says Minister of Environmental Affairs, Dr Edna Molewa.

“Sustainable, nature-based tourism directly benefits our people and communities, and is an important vehicle for rural development, given the location of many conservation areas in rural areas,” Minister Molewa said.

She made the comments on Monday as the Department of Environmental Affairs marked the International Day for Biological Diversity, under the theme ‘Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism’.

According to the department, South Africa is amongst the world’s most mega bio-diverse countries, and its well-managed natural resources have made it a premier destination for tourists.

In 2016, more than 10 million tourist arrivals were recorded in South Africa, representing a 13% increase from the previous year.

Major tourist attractions in South Africa include national parks, nature reserves, world heritage sites, cultural and natural landscapes as well as beaches and marine protected areas.

In the 2016/17 financial year, six million people visited the 19 parks that are managed by South African National Parks (SANParks).

“Tourism has to be developed in harmony with environmental considerations. Sustainable tourism can generate employment and income, thus providing a strong incentive for conservation,” Minister Molewa said.

She said through tourism, public awareness can be raised about the many goods and services provided by biological diversity and the need to respect traditional knowledge and practices.

“Nature-based tourism, or rather eco-tourism, is recognised as a driver and critical component to the sustainability and efficacy of conservation management,” Minister Molewa said.

Tourists are attracted by biological and physical resources, while ecosystems provide the much need resources, such as water and food that supports the tourism sector.

The department said if tourism is not sustainably managed, it may lead to the degradation of the natural environment.

“The conservation of species and ecosystems protection, in conjunction with the promotion of energy and water efficient practices, overall supports responsible tourism,” Minister Molewa said.

The theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity was chosen to coincide with the observance of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The United Nations in 2000 adopted a proposal to proclaim May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

“The implementation of the National Tourism Sector Strategy aimed at the development of sustainable and inclusive tourism for the benefit of all South Africans, as well as the ‘I Do Tourism’ campaign launched by South African Tourism is moving South Africa forward to make Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism a reality,” the department said.



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SOUTH AFRICA: South African Tourists In Zimbabwe Decline,Weak Rand To Blame

Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi

South African tourist arrivals in Zimbabwe have declined sharply by about half — and the weak rand was to blame, Tourism minister Walter Mzembi has said.

Mzembi at the African Union summit in Kigali, Rwanda, over the weekend said that Zimbabwe used to have about 2,1 million tourists arrivals in the country, of which almost 1,5 million were South African.

“It went down by almost 50%, and that is not assisting the struggling economy,” he said of the economic situation in the country.

“The bullish United States dollar has made Zimbabwe as a destination uncompetitive for South Africans and anyone not using US dollars,” he said.

Mzembi said Zimbabwe’s economy “has been gliding through a recession some time” on the back of declining productivity as well as the “bullish” US dollar — which is the main currency in use in Zimbabwe.

He said 70% of Zimbabwe’s imports were from South Africa, and 77,8% of its exports went through the country and about two million lived in South Africa “as part of our Diaspora”.

“You can’t disregard or wish away umbilical relations between South Africa and Zimbabwe,” he said.

Mzembi said recent measures by Zimbabwe to curb imports from South Africa were adopted to arrest the country’s decline in productivity, but he admitted the measures “could have been conceived better”.

He said, for instance, the ban on the importation of South African goods that were also being manufactured in Zimbabwe also counted for ordinary travellers carrying household goods, and these have now been exempted.

“You want to allow space for the travelling public to be able to import within duty remit,” he said.

Other issues related to the ban, including the concerns raised by small traders who protested against it earlier this month, would be discussed “on a bureaucratic” level with South Africa’s trade and industry department, he said.

Asked how the country would deal with traders exporting goods from South Africa to other countries via Zimbabwe, Mzembi said the implementation of this still needed to be finalised.

“All the unintended consequences have been acknowledge. The current exercise is to review and smoothen the implementation,” he said.

“If there are any issues that need to be escalated at a political level, politicians will be engaged,” he said, adding that it wasn’t at this stage yet.

SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa Luring Indian Tourists

South Africa has identified India as a key focus market for boosting tourism and it will shortly launch an aggressive campaign to attract tourists from there.

South African Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom announced this at the INDABA tourism fair here. He said that the country had received more than 80,000 Indian tourists last year and his ministry planned to dedicate to India a significant part of its advertising budget of nearly $8 million this year, with the objective of boosting significantly the arrivals from India.

"India has a huge potential and our challenge is to see what is needed in order for this market to grow and for us to get a fair share of the huge pool of Indian travellers," Hanekom told this correspondent.

He said Indian travellers felt at home in South Africa as they had a very large population of people of Indian origin, especially in Durban.

"Mahatma Gandhi had also lived here in Durban. Here, just like in India, we have different cultures and different religions living in harmony with one another," he added.

INDABA, which means gathering in Zulu, has positioned itself as the largest tourism fair in the African continent and attracts participation from all African countries which come to display their new products and services, as tourism is an essential sector for creating employment as well as economic growth in the least developed continent in the world.

"The safari experience is certainly one of the key selling point of Africa. We don't have the Taj Mahal or some of the incredible sites that you have in India, but here in South Africa, you can be guaranteed to see the Big 5 (Lions, Elephants, Rhinos, Buffaloes and Leopards) in just one, single safari," Hanekom said.

Tourism to South Africa and other African countries was severely hit by fears arising from the fresh outbreak of Ebola epidemic in West African nations of Liberia, Sierre Leone and Guinea. The market has begun to show signs of recovery, now that the outbreak has subsided.

The minister said that tourists' fears were misplaced about contracting the virus in South Africa. "In fact, Europeans were much closer to where Ebola was happening than we were in South Africa," Hanekom said.

Apart from a subsiding Ebola, Hanekom placed his hopes on boosting arrivals from India on the ease of visa regulations for Indians visiting South Africa. Earlier, the visa regulations were strict and it would take up to three weeks for getting permission to travel. In April this year, after Hanekom's visit to India, the norms have been eased and visas should be easier and quicker to obtain for Indians.

"The problem is that our consulate and embassies were having difficulties in answering and handling the visa demands during the peak travel season in India and it often took up to three weeks for delivering visas. That is simply too long. I am convinced that if we manage to make the visa easier we can double the numbers in a couple of years," Hanekom explained.

For many Indians, the country is also perceived as an elite and expensive destination just like European countries, but in recent months a weakening Rand has allowed more Indians to visit and spend more.

Another peculiarity of the Indian travellers is that they like to visit several countries on a trip. While in Europe and North America it is simpler due to visa-free travel between nations, it is still a challenge in Africa.

This point was a focus of discussions at the INDABA this year and various African countries have begun looking at how to facilitate such seamless travel in Africa. Hanekom admitted that security and instability issues in some African nations remained an important barrier to visa-free travel within the continent.

The minister also allayed fears of travellers that that some areas in South Africa were unsafe.

Hanneli Slabber, country manager of South Africa Tourism in India, said: "I guess you have to beware of pickpockets anywhere in the world. Indians visiting South Africa enjoy adventure and activities and they buy triple the amount of activities than those from other nations. Indian women are actually leading in terms of numbers and they like the country and feel safe."

Slabber said that now a lot of vegetarian options, including vegan and Jain food, are available in the country and there were several Indian restaurants. "Our cuisine is influenced by Indian curries as well and a lot of South Africans, not necessarily of Indian origin, can cook good Indian cuisine," he added.

However, in a blow to tourism from India, the national carrier, South African Airways, facing a shortage of aircraft, has stopped the only direct flights from India (Mumbai) to South Africa, forcing Indian tourists to go for alternatives like Emirates or Qatar with one-stop flights.

SOUTH AFRICA: Tourism Projection Into Next Decade

Derek Hanekom, Minister of Tourism for South Africa outlined how South Africa, as a world-class business events destination, will respond to the next decade in the face of rising interest in the African continent.

Speaking at ibtm world in Barcelona, Minister Hanekom outlined how South Africa hosted 124 international association conferences in 2014 alone which attracted just under 70 000 industry professionals. Of these 124 conferences, 81% were international rotating events. He also reminded all that the South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB) has only been in existence for three years.

Looking to the future, SANCB has secured 163 bids for South Africa between 2016 and 2020, from industry sectors as diverse as mining, health and agriculture. Collectively they are expected to bring over 150,000 delegates to South Africa and contribute approximately R3.1billion to the economy.

'The potential of Africa for the MICE industry is exponential. The tide has turned, we can see that our growth opportunities are now also within the African market. There are 770 registered African Associations on the ICCA database. 178 of these are based in South Africa and 592 on the rest of the continent and 218 regional conferences were registered on the continent in 2014 resulting in 610 events over the last five years. South Africa only hosted 63 of these events in the past 5 years' said Minister Hanekom.

The first African Association Society of Executives, which was formed this year, will hold its first AGM at Meetings Africa 2016, SANCB’s signature business events trade shows held annually in February at the Sandton convention Centre in Johannesburg. Other new developments include identifying and collaborating with a key strategic partner to oversee the management of the tradeshow going forward.

The Minister also announced the SANCB is most excited that the European Cities Marketing (ECM) programme is coming to South Africa. This will be the first time that this initiative takes place in South Africa just ahead of the 2016 edition of Meetings Africa.

Speaking at the press conference, alongside Minister Hanekom, ECM President Ignasi de Delàs, said, 'We are really thrilled to have our first ECM Academy organised in South Africa. It’s a new landmark in ECM development to host the derived version of our successful ECM Summer School. The ECM Academy is a tailor-made course for partner organisations outside Europe. We will do our maximum to guarantee the success of the ECM Academy in Johannesburg by maintaining the highest standard of course content, recruiting the best speakers, and giving the latest examples showcasing the most up-to-date trends in the Meetings Industry'.

Hanekom also outlined how the Government is helping small businesses in the tourism sector by including them in shows like ibtm world.

'We have invited 4 of these enterprises with us here to exhibit at ibtm world this year – it’s an important trade show and gives them access to an international business platform' added Minister Hanekom.

The South African National Government supports over 1.4 million jobs and investment continues in its climate change research and management of ocean resources as well as science and technology, minerals and gas exploration.

Summing up, Minister Hanekom said: 'South Africa offer the business events industry excellent value for money, deliver authentic, memorable and enriching experiences in one of the most captivating, safest and beautiful countries that I am proud to call my home'.

Notably was it Minister Hanekom's lobbying efforts, on behalf of a disgruntled tourism industry, which swayed the South African government's other departments to review and change their Visa rules, which had caused the industry some serious problems and showed an impact on anticipated arrivals with a dent in the statistics.

SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa To Overhaul Visa Rules After Tourism Slump

Robben Island in South Africa.

South Africa has announced that it will overhaul its controversial new visa regulations after tourist arrivals fell by six per cent earlier this year, the biggest decline it has seen in six years.

Introduced in June, the new rules of entering South Africa were simply deemed too “strict” by many.

They demanded that visitors apply for visas in person at South African embassies to have their biometric information taken.

But after months of digging in its heels, the Department of Home Affairs has announced it would ease these restrictions.

“In countries where there is no South African mission, the Department of Home Affairs will receive applications, including by post, and capture biometrics of travellers on arrival at ports of entry,” the government’s statement said.

“To address concerns around the geographical spread of countries like China, India and Russia, certain measures will be put in place to ease the process of application, in particular for tourists.” The decision comes after President Jacob Zuma established a committee in August to investigate reports that the tourism industry had been badly impacted by the change.

Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom said in July figures for the first quarter of the year showed a “worrying drop”.

According to Statistic South Africa, tourists from China decreased by 38 per cent in the first quarter compared with the previous period in 2014. India was down by 13 per cent.

The six-percent decline in overall tourist arrivals was the biggest fall since 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis.

The regulations still require children from non-visa-exempt countries to travel with unabridged birth certificates in addition to their passports when entering or leaving the country.

The rule has caused widespread confusion, but Home Affairs has strongly defended the measure as necessary in the fight against child trafficking.

The department is also considering the introduction of long-term multiple entry visas for frequent travellers.

South Africa is one of the leading tourism destinations in Africa, with officials aiming to attract 12 million international tourists by 2018.

The latest announcement has been slammed by some as simply a “bandaid”.

SOUTH AFRICA: Millions Of South Africans Shun Travelling

Four million South Africans stopped travelling in 2014 compared to 2013, Statistics South Africa revealed in its report on domestic travel.

Stats SA said its study found that the number of day trips decreased from 54 million in 2013 to 48 million in 2014, while overnight trips decreased from about 51 million in 2013 to 47 million in 2014.

In 2013, 5.8 million day trips were taken in December and 5.5 million in January, while in 2014, 5.4 million day trips were taken in December and 4.2 million in 2014.

Domestic tourism spend did increase from R104bn in 2013 to R109bn in 2014. Day spend increased from R35bn in 2013 to R39bn in 2014, while overnight trips increased by about R5bn from 2013 to 2014.

“An increase has been witnessed for all categories of expenses in both overnight trips and day trips in the two periods,” Stats SA explained. “The only exception is money spent on domestic transport (down by R1bn) and recreation and culture during daytrips (down by R599m).”

In both 2013 (R19bn) and 2014 (R24bn), the biggest amount of money spent during day trips was on shopping. Two-thirds of the total spent during overnight trips in both 2013 and 2014 were spent on domestic transport (R22bn and R24bn respectively), Stats SA said.

Over one-fifth of total day trips in 2014 were trips to Gauteng and nearly 15% of trips were to Limpopo and Western Cape respectively.

In all provinces except Western Cape, the main purpose of taking overnight trips was to visit friends and relatives. “Tourists mostly travelled to Western Cape for leisure purposes, but visiting friends and relatives was the second most commonly stated purpose for visiting this province,” Stats SA said.

Day travellers travelled mainly for the purpose of shopping (5.2 million) and for visiting friends and relatives (4.8 million), Stats SA said.