Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) Chair Jerry Mabena has called for unity in the sector, warning against “challenges that have pitted us against each other”.
In his opening address at the 2025 edition of the TBCSA Tourism Leadership Conference in Sun City this week, Mabena urged delegates to reflect on creating an environment where the tourism sector can flourish, saying: “Peace is not the absence of conflict but the creation of an environment where all can flourish.”
Mabena acknowledged the legal processes surrounding the SA Tourism Board dissolution but stressed that the focus on growing tourism “should proceed”.
“We will continue to find ways of working together with the SA Tourism team to ensure that we deliver a great product as we are all called to do.”
The application of the TOMSA levy collected by the TBCSA “will always be done in partnership with SA Tourism”, he added.
This comes after tourism associations at the SATSA conference last week said they would withhold nearly R500 million (US$28.6 million) in levy funds from SA Tourism.
“There should be no ambivalence. The application of the levy is done via a memorandum of agreement with SA Tourism, which governs the relationship between the three organisations,” Mabena said.
“From a TOMSA and TBCSA point of view, these organisations have their own Boards, which deliberate matters and will, at the appropriate times, make the necessary announcements on the outcomes of these deliberations.”
Mabena noted that tourism contributed R618.7 billion (US$35.5 billion) to the economy in 2024, supporting 1.8 million jobs. In 2025, employment is expected to grow to 1.9 million. With the right enabling environment, Mabena said the sector could contribute over R900 billion (US$51.6 billion) and support 2.6 million jobs by 2035.
He also stressed the importance of youth entrepreneurship and small businesses, calling SMEs “the backbone of tourism”. Day three of the conference (today) was dedicated to SME issues, focusing on access to funding, marketing and support systems.
“Over the course of the conference, our conversations will focus on turning ideas into action,” said Mabena. “We will look at how to attract investment, connect more people and places, build resilience, equip our workforce with future-ready skills and design policies that open the door to innovation and inclusion – this requires us to stand united.”
