Page 6 - TKZN Annual Report 2023/2024

EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY STATEMENT
REV. MUSA K. ZONDI
MEC FOR EDTEA, MPL
I write this foreword as South Africa celebrates 30 years of democracy, a milestone that has brought significant changes to the country’s socio-cultural and economic landscape, including the tourism sector.
For the first time, all people of South Africa were able to travel and enjoy the full spectrum of the country’s and KwaZulu- Natal’s tourism offerings. The tourism industry was thus
opened for growth domestically, regionally, and internationally.
In 1994, domestic travelers took a total of 17 million trips. To date, this number has grown significantly, with domestic travelers taking over 31 million trips in the past year. This growth is a testament to the sector’s enormous potential to become the backbone of the province’s economy, as many South Africans remain eager to explore their own backyard.
Overview of the tourism landscape
In 1995, 4.48 million international visitors came to South Africa. Today, this figure has grown to over 8 million, with approximately 7.6% visiting KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Over the decades, African countries have supported our tourism, and with improvements in direct air access to KZN, we believe these numbers will continue to grow. The past three decades have presented many challenges to the province, but none as destructive as the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of climate change.
It is well known that COVID-19 decimated our tourism market. While we have largely recovered on a domestic level, we are still rebuilding our international long-haul market. Tourism KZN continues to actively market and promote the KZN across South Africa and the rest of the world by being present at key international tourism trade shows, and by hosting international tourism buyers from the province’s key markets so that they can
experience KwaZulu-Natal and include the province on their itineraries.
Climate change is a reality which has brought higher tides and more extreme weather which has and continues to severely impact tourism infrastructure along our coastline. While the provincial government has done what it can to provide relief for affected businesses, I urge both existing and future members of the tourism industry to plan for climate change. Tourism developers and investors of the future need to be aware of the risks associated with high tides and high rainfall in the province when planning new developments and to keep the safety of visitors to our province top of mind.
Transformation
As people gained the freedom to travel and interact, own homes, and start businesses, opportunities for transformation across the tourism value chain emerged. People of colour have become successful hoteliers, accommodation providers, tour guides, travel agents, transport providers, activity providers, venue owners, and more. However, this transformation has been gradual and necessitates government intervention to ensure that entrepreneurs, particularly our youth, receive the business skills and financial support needed to start and sustain their tourism ventures.
A promising trend is that international tourists are eager to experience authentic South Africa-our townships and rural areas as they truly are. This creates opportunities for the development
4 TOURISM KWAZULU-NATAL ANNUAL REPORT 2023/2024