Parliament yesterday debated the Department of Tourism’s R2.43 billion (€110 million) budget allocation with members scrutinising marketing outcomes, job creation targets and policy implementation. The debate also addressed concerns about legislative delays and oversight challenges affecting key programmes and sector transformation efforts.
The department received a budget allocation of R2.43 billion for the 2025/26 financial year. Of this, the majority (R1.3 billion or €62.2 million) will be allocated to SA Tourism. Destination development and tourism sector support services will each receive R331 million (€15.8 million) to fund the Working for Tourism Programme, the Green Tourism Incentive Programme, the Tourism Grading Programme and the Tourism Transformation Fund.
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said marketing programmes undertaken by SA Tourism delivered successes in the previous year. The South Africa Awaits – Come Find Your Joy campaign boosted website traffic by 35% while the Sho’t Left/Travel Week and Summer campaigns drove a 9% increase in domestic travel. She said R20 million (€967 000) will be spent on domestic tourism marketing.
But DA member Haseenabanu Ismail said: “Marketing is important but, without measurable outcomes, without return on investment, without a strategic focus on a domestic tourism strategy and credible plans for seasonality, it is a shot in the dark. Glossy campaigns won’t rescue a crumbling sector.”
Policy reviews
The Portfolio Committee on Tourism also raised concerns about a series of policies due for review within the medium term, including the National Tourism Sector Strategy, the Tourism Sector Masterplan and the Tourism BBBEE Charter. The committee said the department has not listed the Tourism Act as one of the documents requiring review.
Addressing the committee’s concerns, De Lille said her department will finalise and table the Tourism Amendment Bill, “aligning it with the White Paper with a focus on short-term rentals, grading enforcement and governance”. She said the Short-Term Rental Framework will be finalised in consultation with the industry.
The IFP’s Nhlanhla Hadebe said: “The pending Tourism Amendment Act, vital for regulating unregulated industries like Airbnb, Uber and Bolt, remains stalled.” He called for an urgent review of the legislation. However, De Lille said there is an agreement with the Head of Government Business that the Bill will not be introduced into the “current Parliamentary programme but certainly will be introduced next year”.
Job creation
De Lille said: “We are transforming tourism into a turbocharger for inclusive growth, jobs and community upliftment.” However, the debate highlighted job creation failures in the Expanded Public Works Programme. The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism, Ronalda Nalumango, said only 66 of 2 037 targeted work opportunities for the fourth quarter were implemented.
She said budget cuts will also have a direct impact on the Expanded Public Works Programme – only creating 4 200 work opportunities over the medium term, which is a “massive decline” from the nearly 18 000 planned. Responding, De Lille said it is an “indictment” that, in a country where there are thousands of unemployed people, the programme is not performing adequately.
MICE sector focus
Among some of the department’s tourism targets, De Lille highlighted:
- Refining Meetings Africa and Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026-2028 to a more “effective business model” with a 15% increase in exhibitor diversity
- Supporting 105 bids for MICE events with a goal to convert 25 into wins worth R120 million (€5.7 million) in economic impact and hosting 10 events in villages, townships and small towns
Oversight issues
Prior to the budget vote, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Tourism raised concerns about oversight in the department and at SA Tourism. Among these were the slow implementation of the Tourism Transformation Fund and the Tourism Equity Fund, and delays in implementing critical flagship programmes and tourism infrastructure projects.
De Lille said her department will enhance all new fund contracts for the Tourism Equity Fund and Tourism Transformation Fund to include 60-day approval targets “and consequence management when we fail to meet these targets”.
She said the department will also ensure the Community Tourism Aftercare Programme is implemented to provide support to community projects after handover, including business mentorship, marketing and governance training.
