Small towns are South Africa’s hidden gems – De Lille

A deal with Google to literally put small South African towns on the map, a special Home Affairs portal to make it easier for Chinese tourists to visit South Africa, and grants of up to R1 million for the installation of solar power systems in tourist facilities – these are some of the new initiatives outlined by Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille during her recent visit to Makhanda.

Tour operators, game reserve representatives and homestay owners used the opportunity to speak to De Lille at a meeting at Makhanda Town Hall to consider ways to boost tourism development in rural areas and towns.

The event, organised by the Masifundise Community Family Care and Development Centre (NPC), included participation from the South African Township and Village Tourism Organisation (SATOVITO), National Arts Festival, Shamwari Game Reserve, Amakala Game Reserve and Crown River Safaris, among others.

Joe Cloete, CEO of Shamwari, noted that marketing of South African destinations was fragmented.

“The fact that the Eastern Cape is not united in its marketing efforts is an opportunity,” Cloete said.

He asked the group to imagine, for example, “a passport for frontier reserves and routes.”

“The Eastern Cape is so diverse,” says Cloete, “and no other province can match the breadth of products we can offer. We have to make products that are safe in whatever community we operate in.”

De Lille said rural areas were South Africa’s hidden gems: “Our challenge is to shift our focus from the big cities to the rural areas because that’s where the people are. We know South Africa is a world-renowned tourist destination but our greatest asset is our people.”

De Lille acknowledged that in his travels to small towns he saw how badly devastated many were, and that their strong tourist economies could play a catalytic role in rebuilding them.

“My heart is there,” De Lille said, “in the hidden gems.”

She agreed with MacKenzie that fragmenting marketing doesn’t benefit anyone.

“We need to create a message that spans the entire tourism value chain.”

However, with a budget of just R1 million available for national marketing, it was clear that marketing could not be left to the government.

“Don’t leave everything to the government, they’ll screw it up!”

Ron McKenzie, founder of Small Town South Africa, supported de Lille’s assessment of what the local tourism industry needs.

“To move South Africa and tourism forward, we need to look at ourselves in the mirror,” McKenzie said. “There is a lot of good news. South Africa has beautiful scenery and amazing people. We need to stop looking to a savior and focus on what we can do and move forward.”

Small Town South Africa is a popular Facebook group showcasing off the beaten path places in the country and encouraging local travel.

De Lille noted that 2.4 million tourists visited South Africa between January and the end of March this year, and said: “The question is how to leverage this increase so that more people can benefit.”

Vuyelwa Mthimkhulu, owner of Joza homestay, recalled the Kwame Emakana homestay programme established by Nosimo Balindlela during his time as Eastern Cape Premier.

“Minister, could you please help me revive it?” she asked.

“Whenever there are events in Makanda, organisers send tourists to Port Alfred or Kenton-on-Sea so our house remains empty,” Kwame Emakana chairperson Vuyiswa Gora said.

Gora urged the tourism department to provide guesthouse owners with solar power generation and water tanks to make their accommodation more comfortable for tourists.

Otto Ntsebe, a certified tour guide based in Makhanda, said black tour operators like him were being denied boarding on cruise ships that docked at Gqebela.

De Lille said he would look into both concerns.

Crown Safaris owner Henny Le Roux spoke of the huge interest in the state from Chinese tourists and urged de Lille to intervene to streamline the visa application process.

De Lille said funding had been secured from the tourism ministry to help the interior ministry set up a portal specifically for Chinese tourists.

De Lille is the leader of the Good Party, whose mission is to work for spatial, social, economic and environmental justice. Referring to Makanda’s long-running water crisis – a functional impediment to the town’s tourism growth – De Lille said, “Corruption steals directly from the poor. It is our responsibility as South Africans to stop corruption and protect whistleblowers,” referring to alleged mismanagement that is preventing the town from improving its water treatment capacity.

De Lille mentioned the Ministry’s special programs such as the Market Access Assistance Programme, the Green Tourism Incentive Programme and the Tourism Equality Fund.

She said Statistics South Africa’s figures for January to March 2024 showed that South Africa’s tourism industry was robust and growing.

International tourist arrivals from January to March 2024 totalled 2.4 million, up 15.4% compared to the same period in 2023, De Lille said.

In 2023, South Africa welcomed over 8.5 million tourists from around the world, of which 6.4 million came from other parts of the African continent. South Africa welcomed 1.8 million tourists from other parts of the African continent between January and March 2024, accounting for 74.5% of all tourists.

De Lille was referring to the Tourism Sector Master Plan approved by Cabinet last September, which was a joint effort between the government and the private sector, which included a roadmap for ensuring a “full recovery” of the tourism sector from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by promoting new opportunities for the sector.

In 2023, the department relaunched the R1.2 billion Tourism Equity Fund to support the growth of emerging tourism businesses.

The Tourism Sector Master Plan includes the following key focus areas:

• Stimulating demand through attractive tourism products
• strengthening education and skills development;
• promoting entrepreneurship and economic growth;
• improved infrastructure and connectivity;
• Foster social cohesion and well-being and promote regional cooperation.
• This article first appeared in the 23 May 2024 edition of Talk of the Town. Serving the Ndlambe and Sunshine Coast communities, the newspaper is a weekly roundup of Makhanda news and is available in stores from early Thursday morning.