South African Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, announced recently that the government will invest US $10 million in the marketing and promotion of the country’s tourism industry.
He stated that the “Nothing's More Fun than a Sho't Left” campaign and its rollout will be an important section of the marketing activities. The campaign was launched last year during the tourism month.
Hanekom has stated that it delivers the idea of traveling in South Africa is fun-filled experience as well as a valuable investment for the visitors. Not only it brings fun, it is also quite affordable and easily accessible, he believes.
At the launch of the tourism month in Johannesburg, the minister expressed his views about the same and the government policies regarding the marketing and promotion. The tourism month focuses on encouraging the people of South Africa to explore the country better.
He said that the government and the ministry of tourism are committed to ensure that the wonders and the unique heritage of the country are shared by the South Africans increasingly.
The amount contributed to the economy by domestic tourists last year has exceeded the amount spent in the year 2012 by US$2.18 billion. The revenue is around US$2.43 billion.
According to the statistics of the Tourism Satellite Account issued by "Statistics South Africa", the contribution to the GDP by tourism was US$9.3 billion in 2012. Along with that, tourism has contributed in the generation of employment by creating around 617,000 jobs in 2012.
Hanekom said that by making domestic tourism more affordable and accessible to all South Africans, they can reach the target of 18 million domestic tourists by 2020, as set out in the National Tourism Sector Strategy.
The country has a number of initiatives to promote domestic tourism, as stated by Thulani Nzima, CEO at South African Tourism. The tourist board will design a campaign about the benefits of tourism with the goal of educating people about the accessibility of tourism and dispelling the myth that only the elite are entitled to travel.