The National Department of Tourism (NDT) has launched a project to a train and deploy number of ‘Tourism Monitors’ to improve safety and security in specific tourism precincts.
This is according to Minister of Tourism, Tokozile Xasa, who was speaking at the Satsa Conference at Spier, Stellenbosch, who said the pilot phase of the project will launch in Gauteng in September. She further explained that young people will be trained in communities as a means of creating a form of protection and safety around key tourist attractions.
She emphasised that this ties in with South African Tourism’s “I Do Tourism” campaign which aims to create greater awareness of the importance of tourism to all citizens. The campaign was also addressed during the conference by SA Tourism CEO, Sisa Ntshona, who explained that I Do Tourism is an invitation to South Africa – “all have a role to play in tourism,” he says. “The better the sector does, the better the economy does.”
On the topic of inter-department collaboration, the Minister highlighted that the NDT has been working closely with their counterparts from other departments to improve tourist safety. This includes the Minister of Police, Fikile Mbalula, who announced a number of security initiatives that have been introduced in and around OR Tambo International Airport.
The Tourism Minister also touched on immigration regulations, saying that her department continues to liaise with Home Affairs to resolving outstanding issues. She called on the industry to unite and “not talk from different corners” so that the matter can finally be concluded.
