/ 11 October 2006

New tourism CEO takes over

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa has a new CEO, Mmatsatsi Marobe, who stepped into her role on October 1, the organisation said on Wednesday.

”I am committed to taking the TBCSA to a new level of service delivery and to bringing together public and private partners to realise the potential of tourism in the country,” Marobe said in a statement.

Marobe would take over from Tanya Abrahamse who had decided to make a move to global tourism challenges, the organisation said.

Abrahamse noted that Marobe was a natural choice for the position. ”After just a few months it was evident that her knowledge and contact in the industry both in private and government sectors would enable her to pursue the council’s strategic objective to the next level.”

In early 2006 Marobe joined the TBCSA as chief operating officer working with Abrahamse.

”We have no doubt that Mmatsatsi will leave her mark on the industry in these crucial times as we lead up to 2010 and align the private sector of tourism to achieve unprecedented growth and success,” said TBCSA chairperson Thabiso Tlelai.

Marobe was responsible for strategic marketing of the nation’s number one tourist icons at the then National Parks Board.

Later, she worked for both the KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo Tourism Authorities — at the latter as general manager tourism.

In addition to the management roles, she also trained as a tourist guide for the Gauteng, the KwaZulu-Natal and the Limpopo provinces.

The Tourism Business Council is the representative body for the private sector players in the tourism industry. It strives to work together with all role-players to create an environment for growth and development of the industry. – Sapa