As the world emerges from the disruptive effects of the covid-19 pandemic and tourism shows encouraging signs of a rebound, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) is leaving no stone unturned as it makes a push for an accelerated recovery for the tourism industry.
The TBCSA as part of its strategy to restore tourism businesses is set to hold a tourism leadership conference that will gather industry players and policymakers under one roof, to reflect, discuss, and forge a way forward for the industry.
Held under the theme, Tourism: The Engine of Growth for South Africa, the inaugural Tourism conference will take place from 14-16 September 2022, at Sun City Resort, in the North West Province.
The maiden conference will host our partners from across the industry and other important stakeholders in the tourism value chain to discuss among other topics:
• A stronger partnership with the public sector and Private Sector
• Marketing and promotion of South Africa as a preferred tourist destination
• Creation of sustainable employment for youth in South Africa in urban and rural areas
• Transformation and growth within the tourism sector
• Regional integration and cooperation (SADC and Africa)
Speaking to VoyagesAfriq the CEO of TBCSA Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said, the upcoming event will focus on positioning tourism as an engine of growth in South Africa.‘’For many, many years we’ve been talking the language of tourism ourselves as practitioners, and we’ve been putting together targets to say, we need to impact the economy far greater than what we are doing at the moment. We need to contribute to the GDP in a way that is far greater than what we are currently doing.’’
“This inaugural conference is critical in setting the new agenda for tourism in South Africa and the region. It also presents an opportunity for the private sector to share a platform with our public sector colleagues, to share ideas about how we can impact the economy of South Africa and increase youth employment through travel and tourism. The ultimate goal is to increase international arrivals, drive domestic travel, and drive the much-needed recovery in the overall South African economy”, TBCSA CEO, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said.
The TBCSA Boss posited that tourism has to be more inclusive and also use the sector to offer the youth employment opportunities. ”For a long time, we have said that we need to do much better in terms of getting more young people involved in the tourism industry. So part of the discussions that we’re going to have will deal with issues around youth employment. How do we impact, the problem we have here in South Africa and how do we open our doors for more young people to join the industry and issues around the transformation of our sector is crucial”.
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) is the umbrella organization representing the unified voice of business in the travel and tourism sector. The organisation serves to unite and influence the diverse travel and tourism sector to contribute to a competitive, responsible and inclusive tourism economy.
Read more on TBCSA here
