announcements, tablings and committee reports - Parliament of ...

4876 [Tuesday, 29 October 2013takes a huge budget for the department. There is also a needfor funding for tourism in rural areas to allow for identification,planning and development for attractions in previouslydisadvantaged communities.It is recommended that the National Treasury reviews thebaseline budget for tourism through a steady increase over theMTEF period and that the Department should quantify theamount required to allow them to effectively execute theirmandate.8.1.2 Recognition of tourism as an export sector - tourism is oneof the biggest foreign income earners for the economy of SouthAfrica. South African Tourism is exposed to foreign currency riskwhen conducting marketing activities abroad. Consequently, SouthAfrican Tourism incurs costs that are not covered in the allocatedbudget and this affects the budget for this entity.It is recommended that National Treasury covers the costs incurredby South African Tourism due to foreign currency exposure as thePublic Finance Management Act only covers personnel costs andnot marketing related costs.8.2 Performance related recommendationsThe following recommendations are made to Parliament and theDepartment with regard to service delivery and performance ofthe sector:8.2.1 Tourism statistics - South Africa enjoyed an increase of10.2 percent in tourist arrivals in 2012. The committee notesthat this performance is far above the global average of4 percent. Nevertheless, as much as the substantial increase isapplauded, more work still needs to be done to consolidatetourist data collection methodology to ensure reliable andimpeccable tourist statistics in South Africa. It is recommendedthat the Department, South African Tourism and StatisticsSouth Africa:(i)(ii)develop mechanisms, such as a Tourism SatelliteAccount, to record proper tourism statistics as opposed tototal arrivals in South Africa.facilitate the establishment of the Tourism EconomicAccounts for provinces and municipalities to allow them tohave destination specific statistics and quantify the valueand volume for tourism at a local level. Availability of localstatistics will allow municipal councils to prioritise tourismand provide adequate budget.ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS NO 147─2013