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

Tuesday, 29 October 2013] 4879(iii) Parliament engages the European Union with regard tothe methodology used to implement the carbon emissionstrading scheme to ensure tourists using the nationalcarrier do not incur exorbitant airline ticket prices.(iv) The Department should work closely with the Departmentof Home Affairs to facilitate issuing of visas to potentialtourists and to continue working on a univisa regime inthe country. However, this should not comprise bordercontrol and security of the country.(v) The Department should engage the BRICS countries inpromoting the South-South air connectivity to boosttourism in the emerging markets.8.2.6.2 Domestic AirliftThe Committee noted lack of airlift and poor servicing byairlines of some towns which are tourist destinations within thecountry.It is recommended that:(i) The Department engages low cost airlines to service allpotential tourism destinations and towns in South Africa.(ii) South Africa Tourism works with airlines in developingdomestic tour packages to inculcate the culture of travelamongst South Africans.(iii) Department of Tourism works closely with theDepartment of Transport to incorporate tourism issues inthe Airlift Strategy.8.2.7 Domestic tourism - the committee notes with concern that thenumber of domestic trips taken declined by 3.8% from26.4 million in 2011 to 25,4 million in 2012. The averagenumber of trips taken by a South African adult remainedconstant at 2.1 trips however the number of travellersdecreased from 13,9 million in 2011 to 12,5 million in 2012. Asa result of the decrease in travellers, despite the constantnumber of trips taken, overall trips decreased in 2012. This callsfor a more focussed domestic marketing campaign.It is recommended that the National Department of Tourism incollaboration with provincial destination marketing organisations(DMOs) intensify domestic marketing campaigns on the groundand ensure that South Africans travel within their own country.8.2.8 Effectiveness of the grading scheme - there has been a vastimprovement with regard to acceptance and uptake of the newgrading system by the private sector. However, the emergingtourism enterprises still find it expensive to undertake grading. Itwas also observed that the grading system has embraced byANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS NO 147─2013