Mmastsatsi Marobe, CEO of the Tourism Business Council, has said that tourism could be one way in which the South African economy can be stimulated, as reported in Travelwires.
She said that while individual accommodation establishments have seen a decline in occupancy, the IPL cricket and British and Irish Lions Rugby tours are good for the national economy, and demonstrated that South Africa is a viable destination for sport, business and leisure.
She identified a number of tourism trends that can stimulate the economy:
1. Local tourism is on the up, at the expense of international tourism. In the UK 20 % of British holidaymakers will travel in their own country this year.
2. Going on holiday is a means of escapism from the doom and gloom of the effects of the credit crunch. “Tourism provides a psychological lift to the psyche of the public”.
3. Green is gold, in that tourists are becoming more discerning in expecting their accommodation to be environmentally responsible.
Marobe called for more young persons to be employed by the tourism industry, as they are the future of the tourism industry.
“…we all have a role to play in stimulating the economy through tourism – keep visiting, keep hosting, and keep investing” concluded Marobe.
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the Economic recession made a lot of jobless people in my own country. We could only hope that our economy becomes strong again —