NDT Annual Report 2012/13 - Department of Tourism

Department of Tourism – Vote: 35
REPORT OF THE ACCOUNTING OFFICER
for the year ended 31 March 2013
Report by the Accounting Officer to the Executive Authority
and Parliament of the Republic of South Africa.
1. General review of the state of
financial affairs
The mandate of the Department of Tourism is to promote
sustainable tourism growth and development for South
Africa. Tourism is regulated by the Tourism Act, 1993 (Act 72
of 1993) which, as amended, makes provision for further
regulation and rationalisation of the tourism industry,
including measures aimed at the maintenance and
enhancement of the standards of facilities and services hired
out or made available to tourists; as well as the co-ordination
and rationalisation, as far as practicable, of the activities of
persons who are active in the tourism industry.
Tourism is a national priority and can contribute to economic
development. The 1996 White Paper on the Development
and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa provides a
framework and guidelines for the development and
promotion of tourism in South Africa. Its vision is to develop
the tourism sector as a national political and economic
priority to maximise its contribution to improving the quality of
life for all South Africans. The White Paper also defines
the role that the national government must play in
tourism development and promotion as that of facilitation,
implementation, coordination, planning, policy-making,
regulation and monitoring and development promotion.
The National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS) provides a
blueprint for the tourism sector in the pursuit of growth targets
contained in the new growth path. It will provide sufficient
guidance on how best to achieve the Department of
Tourism’s strategic vision.
Tourism is further recognised in the National Development
Plan (NDP) as one of the main drivers of the country’s
economy and employment. The plan envisages the
promotion of South Africa as a major tourist destination, with
unique features, in order to boost tourist numbers and enable
tourism to contribute to sustainable economic growth and
poverty reduction. The department supports these objectives
and implements on-going strategies to set and maintain high
standards and encourage growth in the tourism sector. It
further supports the transformation of the tourism sector
through implementation of the tourism sector scorecard.
It is against this legislative framework that the department’s
aim is to promote and support the growth and development
of an equitable, competitive and sustainable tourism sector,
enhancing its contribution to national priorities. The
department has therefore set for itself the following strategic
orientated goals:
• achieve good corporate and cooperative governance
• integrate tourism priorities with other sector departments,
provincial and local government’s planning
• improve the impact of tourism on the livelihood of all
South Africans
• improve tourism sector research, information and
knowledge management
• increase tourism sector contribution to inclusive economic
growth
• improve levels of competitiveness and sustainability in
the tourism sector
• strengthen regional, Africa and international collaboration
and partnerships
Upon establishment the department was structured around
existing functions which served the Tourism industry to a
large extent. The new strategic direction of Government
however required the reconsideration of the composition of
the department.
The NGP identifies tourism as one of six core pillars of
growth whilst the Industrial Policy Action Plan 2011/12 –
2013/14 (IPAP2) indicates the expectation for tourism to
contribute to the development of rural areas and culture by
growing the economy and creating jobs.
The tourism sector is obliged to obtain a strategic oversight
and application of the NTSS and Tourism Act, 1993 (Act No
72 of 1993). The Mission of the NTSS is to grow a
sustainable tourism economy in South Africa, with
domestic, regional and international components, based on
innovation, service excellence, meaningful participation
and partnerships.
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Annual Report 2012 / 2013