Tourism Minister Mmamaloko Kubayi-Ngubane rings the bell to open the trading floor at Meetings Africa as South African Tourism board interim chair Ravi Nadasen looks on. (SA Tourism)
Africa should push
tourism if it wants to make good on predictions that the continent is on a new
development path, South African Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane told
delegates at the opening of the 15th Meetings Africa at Sandton Convention
Centre on Tuesday.
Kubayi-Ngubane, who
rang the bell to open the trading floor, told the professionals from the
business travel industry across the continent that Africa has been touted as
the “next frontier for growth and development”.
The tourism sector
“can help the continent continue its inevitable march towards sustainable
growth,” she said. Such growth in a market of 1.2-billion people is
“inevitable”.
The minister said that
much had changed in the continent since the first Meetings Africa 15 years ago.
“Although Africa showed great promise, it still faces challenges regarding
implementing democracy, violent conflicts, and a huge infrastructure investment
gap,” she said.
Africa has changed,
and continues to change for the better. “Today, Africa brims with promise.
Africa is a wonderful continent of diverse people and vibrant cultures. With
many African countries making remarkable economic strides in the past few
years, the global meetings industry has come to regard the continent as a
dynamic, sought-after destination,” she said.
Africa is also making
strides in building infrastructure, especially in information and communication
technology, where it has trailed in the past, she said, quoting from the World
Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019. “This is
because unparalleled growth of African markets has been undergirded by
increasing foreign direct investment in key areas such as energy,
infrastructure and finance,” she said.
This growth, which
also happened in tourism infrastructure, was further supported and encouraged
by the African Union.
Kubayi-Ngubane said
tourism is high on the list of the South African government’s priorities, as it
is a crucial sector. “As a country, we already have a vibrant tourism industry
and both leisure tourism and the business events industry hold massive
potential to play an even more meaningful role in the economic transformation
of our country, and the upliftment of our people and the rest of the
continent.”
The government is also
committed to helping the smaller players, and is forging partnerships with the
private sector to enable new entrants to come in and contribute to the
industry’s diversity and sustainability, she said. The focus is especially on
small tourism enterprises that can create jobs, offer authentic experiences and
empower communities.
This is the minister’s
first Meetings Africa event since her appointment in the middle of last year,
and she chose to strike an informal tone. She also went on a walkabout on the
trading floor in the ground floor ballroom of the Sandton Convention Centre,
where there were 321 exhibitors from 20 African countries.
“I could already sense
a buzz of excitement surrounding the many possibilities that Africa has to
offer the international business travel industry,” she said.
Kubayi-Ngubane extended a special welcome to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is exhibiting at Meetings Africa for the first time.
For more information, vist www.meetingsafrica.co.za