International forum - South Africa-China Tourism Cooperation: “Opening New Horizons”
A
collaboration of the University of Johannesburg Confucius Institute
(UJCI), The Centre for Africa-China Studies (CACS), and the School of
Tourism and Hospitality (STH)
Leaders of Business and Industry
Your Excellencies
Member of the media
Comrades and friends
I greet you all
May
I once again extend our warmest welcome to those whom amongst are visitors to our beautiful country. It is a great honour and privilege
to address you on the occasion of this special gathering.
The
year 2020 was a challenging year for South Africa and the whole world. The arrival of the pandemic has stopped the world from travelling.
China's
success in fighting the pandemic has served as a good reference for
South Africa and the rest of the world. We are grateful to China for its outstanding contribution in fighting the pandemic.
It needs to
be observed that this year is the 23rd anniversary of diplomatic ties
between China and South Africa. From trade and investment to education
and technology, from arts and culture to tourism, and close political
ties, the tree of friendship between China and South Africa has
blossomed in all respects.
The tourism industry is of great significance and potential to South Africa and is one of the six key sectors of economic growth. China has always been an important global source market for the tourism of South Africa and is a strategic trade partner to South Africa. This symbiotic relationship will definitively drive recovery in the sector.
Equally, business and trade between
South African and China has seen tremendous growth in the last decade
alone, and that has only happened because you in attendance here today,
made it so happen.
We must seize the opportunities and fully
leverage the strengths of mutual trust, economic cooperation and
translate our ambitions into concrete results that benefit our people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
According
to the latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
reports, the global tourism sector outperformed the global economy for
the seventh consecutive year, being the fastest growing broad economic
sector in 2017. It has outperformed manufacturing (4.2%), retail and
wholesale (3.4%), agriculture, forestry and fisheries (2.6%) and
financial services (2.5%) respectively.
South Africa remains
China’s number one trading partner in Africa and has experienced an
upward trend in trade from 2015 to 2019, increasing from R1.182 trillion
to R1.412 trillion respectively.
We are proud to say that
before COVID-19, China remained the leading growth market for South
Africa's tourism industry, with year-on-year growth recorded at 38
percent in 2019, accounting for the largest number of international
visitors to South Africa.
A clear horizon for Tourism cooperation has been set.
The
relationship between South Africa and China gives expression to the
Chinese New Year, the symbol of the Year of the Ox and embodies an ethos
of rejuvenation and revitalisation.
China and South Africa have
pledged mutual support for each other’s tourism ventures and we are
deepening cooperation on all fronts of human development anchored in the
high level Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) from the SA-China
Cooperation Agreement, signed 23 years ago.
Article 20 of the
Declaration of the Cooperation Agreement talks about “co-operation in
tourism training, capacity building, promoting and developing cultural
and medical tourism as well as promotion campaigns and information
sharing, thereby acknowledging that the tourism industry is a generator
of economic growth and empowerment, employment and foreign exchange”.
Pursuant
to this, South Africa and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on Co-operation in the field of Tourism on 28 October 2013.
The areas of cooperation identified in the MoU includes:
a) Information Sharing;
b) Tourism Investment;
c) Marketing and Promotion;
d) Skills Development and Training; and
e) Tourism Safety and Service Standards.
We
have committed to continue to nurture the sector and drive increasingly
impactful and collaborative strategies and programmes for sustained,
inclusive growth into the future.
COOPERATION IN SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
South
Africa have identified skills development in the tourism and
hospitality subsectors as a fundamental priority, and we are proud of
the realisation of the commitments made to assist South Africa through
institutions in China.
Further discussions with the Chinese
Culture and International Education Exchange Centre has created and
sustained our Mandarin language training for the travel, tourism and
hospitality in South Africa.
The intention is to place the
successful students in various vocational training and emphasis is
placed in the fields of Chefs, Tourist Guiding, and Hospitality
Reception for the development of a sustainable and reliable “skills
pipeline” which is a national need as it is critical for the growth of
this sector.
Some of those skills are aimed at ensuring that we
are primarily well positioned to cater for our increasing Chinese
tourists arrivals and includes amongst others:
- Specialisation course on Chinese traditional cuisine
- Tourist guide and front-line staff training in Mandarin to equip them to better service the market
- Training or upskilling of new entrants on adventure guiding
IMPROVING EASE OF TRAVEL
The
issue of improving travel freedom through visa waiver for ordinary
passport holders has been topping the agenda in various bilateral engagements between the two countries to increase tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
South
Africa and China registered a historic milestone in improving the visa
regime between the two countries through the signing of the Visa
Requirements Simplification Agreement during the State Visit on 24 July
2018.
Consequently, South Africa established eleven Visa
Facilitation Centers across China, in the following cities: Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xian, Shenyang, Wuhan, Jinan, Hangzhou,
Chongqing and Kunming.
This new measure is extended to business
visitors holding diplomatic, official/services and ordinary passports,
who apply for visas to visit South Africa for short-term business
purposes and is valid for ten years.
IN CONCLUSION
With
the successful development and gradual trial and distribution of the
vaccine, we believe that South Africa's tourism industry could welcome
renewed impetus. It is my hope that the tourism industry in both China
and South Africa will continue to yield even more fruitful results in
future.
The relationship between South Africa and China over the years has been mutually beneficial and guided by trust, respect and friendly relations.
We
hope that there will be a new outlook in the upcoming year, both in our
tourism industry and in the bilateral development between China and
South Africa.
On behalf of the Tourism of the Republic of South
Africa, I look forward to welcoming all of you again to discover South
Africa for yourselves soon.
To conclude, let me wish the forum a great success!
I thank you.