Moosa slams negative tour guides

THE Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mohammed Valid Moosa, has raised concerns over some South African tour guides who continue to bad mouth the country and has called on provincial tourism MECs to ensure guides are properly trained in promoting South Africa's rich culture. This was based on feedback from foreign tourists who allegedly had been told negative things about the crime and the political situation in South Africa by certain guides, when they in fact had experienced the opposite of what they had been told. TNN, who accompanied a group of German journalists on a tour of the Garden Route last year, experienced similar negative feedback from a tour guide who slated the country’s supposed racism and high-crime rate. Speaking at the Tourism MINMEC (Minister and provincial MECs) meeting in Cape Town last week, Moosa further pointed to the fact that the tour guiding profession was still white-dominated and raised the need to train more black tour guides. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has commissioned the Tourism, Hospitality and Sports Education and Training Authority (Theta) to conduct training in tour guiding, specifically aimed at empowering unemployed and previously disadvantaged individuals. The minister also praised the provinces for their contribution in making 2002 in general, and the festive season in particular, a tourism success. "I have no doubt in my mind that the tourism industry is headed for even bigger growth this year," he said, adding that South Africa was already enjoying a tourism boom early in the year with the hosting of the Cricket World Cup. (Adele Mackenzie)