Mzanzitravel Magazine Issue 10

(translating to 81%) and ranked number six in the country compared to
other provinces. On the domestic front the target was 1.3 million and we
managed to attract 1.24 million trips translating to 92% of our target. We
remain committed to reaching our 5 in 5 target and hitting the 100% mark.
We are confident that our efforts to market the province at international
trade fares and in the SADC region will yield results”, Mohono added.
“The Tourism Board has done research in conjunction with North West
University that showed a huge growth in our domestic market
performance.
The research shows that we had 1.8 million trips as
opposed to the reported 1.2 million by SAT. We will continue to use our
market intelligence to gather data on tourists visiting our province from all
quarters of the world”, Mohono concluded. – Kamogelo Pooe
Department remains steadfast in growing the economy of
the province.
Mmabatho – North West MEC for Tourism Desbo Mohono says that her
department will remain undeterred in ensuring that it continuous to
positively contribute towards growing the economy of the North West
Province.
Mohono was tabling her departmental budget of R 261 551 million for
the 2018/19 fiscal year at the North West Provincial Legislature recently
when she said that the contribution of the tourism sector is measured by
the number of jobs it creates and its contribution to the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and the amount of revenue created from activities within
the sector.
“The tourism sector is fundamentally a collaborative sector made up of a
complex web of stakeholders. This is a depiction of the ACT cluster value
chain e.g. CATA – paintings in and around our establishments by our local
artists; food in our kitchens from our agricultural sector etc.
'It is important that all of us, in government and the private sector pull in
the same direction”, she said.
Mohono said her department was using the budget vote to take stock of
what they did in the previous financial year and chart a way forward for the
coming 12 months.
She said her department will use the National Development Plan to focus
on building an economy in which all people of the North West can flourish
and benefit the people of North West as a whole, rather than a privileged
few.
In her conclusion, Mohono said that her department's vision encourages
and welcomes investment from all quarters while in the same breath we
offer policy certainty and always look for ways to unlock the barriers that
inhibit growth and social inclusion. – Kamogelo Pooe
Department creates a conducive environment for
tourism investors
The North West Department of Tourism has called on all potential Tourism
Investors to invest in the province.
“Our vision as a department encourages and welcomes investment from
all quarters while in the same breath we offer policy certainty and always
look for ways to unlock the barriers that inhibit growth and social inclusion.
Our commitment is to build strong partnerships in which the sector and all
its role players work towards the common good.”
Mohono said that her department has made the most with the little that
they were given and will not be deterred from going from strength to
strength.
She said that some of the milestones include but are not limited to
ensuring that the North West Tourism Board fully assumed all marketing
roles which she says previously the department had to intervene.
“The North West Tourism Board together with the department managed to
showcase and market Destination Bokone Bophirima at Meetings Africa
in Sandton, Tourism Indaba in Durban, Getaway Show in Randburg, Cape
Town International Jazz Festival in Cape Town, and World Travel Market
(WTM) Africa which is also in Cape Town. Our Botswana Marketing
Activation in Gaborone yield positive results as we recently hosted 10
Botswana Travel Agents and Media personnel for a 5 day familiarization
tour of the province. We have also marketed ourselves at the Mahika
Mahikeng Cultural Festival in Mahikeng”, said Mohono
MEC Mohono also added that the department together with the North
West Tourism Board was able to market Destination Bokone Bophirima at
some of most prestigious travel markets.
“These includes the Serbia Tourism Exhibition in Belgrade which was
done in collaboration with YUTA – which is an organization representing
all tour operators in Eastern Europe and intents to have them come over
for a familiarisation trip with Turkish Airlines.
“We also did the World Travel Market (WTM) in London and ITB in Berlin
which yielded 170 crew members for the German idols in the Pilanesburg
Sun City nodal area for a programme viewed by 8 million Germans and
syndicated in Switzerland and Austria”, read Mohono.
In March, the department in partnership with South African Tourism
hosted 10 Australian Flight Centre Agents and in December, the
department will host 200 travel agents and tour operators for a period of 5
days in the Bojanala region.
MEC Mohono said that her department also able to implement different
capacity building programme which ensured that the industry in the
province does not become rigid but remains relevant and also kept
abreast with industry norms, standards and expectation and that they also
able to compete with other provinces.
She said her department participated in the International Tourist Guide
Day celebration held in Hoedspruit, Limpopo where trained Tourist guides
from Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District were officially confirmed as
certified tourist guides.
She also mentioned the successful hosting of the provincial Lilizela
Tourism Awards where 23 establishments were awarded certificates of
excellence in different categories – Kamogelo Pooe
During her 2018/19 Budget Vote Speech, MEC for Tourism, Desbo
Mohono assured Tourism stakeholders that her department has created
a conducive environment for tourism investment.
She said that despite challenges faced by the department, they kept their
heads above water and have performed very well as a department.