Mid Term Report - Gauteng Online

internationally renowned productions, including theLion King. The provincial government has also completeda feasibility study into the establishment of afully-fledged film city to further grow the film industryin the province.In line with the objectives of the Gauteng Growthand Development Strategy, the provincial governmenthosted a creative industries summit with avariety of stakeholders in the sector and developed aGauteng creative industries development strategy togrow the sector. This will stimulate investment in thefurther development of creative workers, creative clustersand creative enterprises; develop and promoteproducts and services in the sector and support thedevelopment of creative communities.TourismGauteng continues to sustain its position as a leadingprovincial destination for foreign tourists, averaging51% over the past five years. While South Africa’stourism growth was 10% in 2005, reaching alandmark 7.3 million arrivals, the province recordeda 7% growth over the same period, representing atotal of 3.6 million arrivals. Africa continues to be akey source market for South Africa and more so forGauteng, accounting for over 70% of all arrivals.Following a slight decline in revenue during 2004,the province achieved a phenomenal growth of nearly30% in Total Foreign Direct Spend (TFDS) from R13billion to R16.6 billion in 2005. This performance inforeign receipts represents an average of 4.6% contributionto the provincial economy.Notwithstanding what seems to be a negligible increasein length of stay from an average of 5.5 daysto 6.3 days between 2004 and 2005, this performanceis significant in the run-up to the 2010 FIFAWorld Cup. The bed-nights remained stable at 31%during the period in review.ICTIn terms of the ICT sector, a baseline study thatdetermines possible usage of information technologyhas been conducted and finalised. It seeks toposition ICT in the mainstream of job creation andsocial development. Moreover, it seeks to determinethe means through which information technology ispositioned at the centre of efforts to grow Gautengas a globally competitive city region.AgricultureAnother potential growth sector identified in theGGDS is the agricultural sector. An AgricultureDevelopment Strategy was launched in 2006 and isbeing implemented to take advantage of the sector’spotential for economic empowerment and growth.This aims to boost value-added production in thesector, including through promoting bio-technology,agro-processing and high-value and niche-marketcrops.TransportA successful Gauteng city region and a growingeconomy needs an effective and integrated transportsystem which includes a variety of transport modesincluding trains, taxis, buses and private cars. Ofparticular importance in meeting the needs of ourpeople is a public transport system which is safe, reliable,accessible and affordable and integrated.Since 2004, the provincial government has madeimportant progress in developing key aspects of thisintegrated transport system, including the following:• Implementation of a Gauteng strategic publictransport network has commenced as an initialstep towards integrating taxi, bus and railtransport routes. The system will provide commuterswith accurate service information and linkmarginalised areas with employment centres.Midterm Report - 2004/06 • 17