Lerato Mailoane
Gauteng is abuzz with business, tourism, trade, music festivals, and investment events which is a welcome boost to the Gauteng economy.
As Gauteng enters a bumper-to-bumper tourism month this September, MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile said that hosting events across the province is a major catalyst to growing the economy.
Maile was addressing the media on Sunday, 1 September 2024 during the province’s official launch of Tourism Month at the Sanctuary Mandela Hotel in Houghton.
MEC Maile said the Gauteng Provincial Government has identified tourism as one of the key sectors in the province and is investing significantly to ensure its growth and sustainability.
“The prioritisation of the tourism sector is occurring in a difficult economic environment both locally and globally, with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still observable.
“Gauteng faced notable declines in domestic tourism spending. The province’s overnight tourism expenditure plummeted to R18.86 billion, marking a dramatic decrease of 45.8 percent. In addition, holiday spending in Gauteng fell significantly to R7.22 billion, reflecting a sharp drop of 59.2 percent. The substantial decreases in Gauteng’s tourism expenditure underscore a critical need for targeted strategies to invigorate overnight and holiday tourism in the province,” said Maile.
The MEC said harnessing the full potential of tourism will be crucial to shaping a prosperous and sustainable future, and to balancing economic benefits with environmental, cultural and both global and local considerations.
“There is no question that tourism is set for significant resurgence and transformation. At the heart of this resurgence should be the inclusion of civil society role-players, integration of the district development model into the tourism ecosystem and ensuring that new frontiers are opened for new players in areas like sports tourism, medical tourism, music tourism, film tourism and gastronomy tourism.”
This tourism month, Maile said Gauteng tourism will be anchored by events around the #GautengEats #MusicalGP #SportingGP and shopping offerings for our local, interprovincial, and regional markets.
“This September we will have lifestyle markets, such as Makhelwane festival, Hammanskraal family market and iconic signature events such as the DStv Delicious International Food and Music Festival, Standard Bank Joy of Jazz, Ultra, Spring Fiesta, 947 Ride Joburg, 702 Walk-The-Talk, Joburg Pride Month, Soweto Marathon, and Soccer Derby, continue to be the key drivers of increased visitation and tourism revenue in the province.”
The MEC also highlighted that safety will be heightened in the province following the appointment of 400 tourism ambassadors and crime prevention wardens whichwill increase visibility including the Gauteng traffic police, various metro’s police departments and the specialised units of the South African Police Services.
“In the deployment of this capacity, we will prioritise key hot spots, tourism hubs, township tourism experiences and significant events as part of the overall visible policing and multidisciplinary approach to combating crime and creation of a visitable and better Gauteng we all want.”
SOURCED FROM THE GPG WEBSITE.
