Tourvest growth on track

ONE of South Africa's leading tourism companies, Tourism Investment Corporation (Tourvest) continues to enjoy good trading conditions, according to ceo, Carol Scott. Speaking after the Tourvest annual general meeting held in Johannesburg on Monday, Scott said that current indications were that Tourvest would experience its best ever year this year. "Inbound tourism numbers continue to be robust and it appears as if most travellers have not been deterred by last week's despicable bomb blasts. However, each time we have an incident like that, tourism receives a potential setback. The next six months are peak season for South Africa and it is critical that the majority of visitors to this country have a positive travel experience and talk about it with their friends." She added that Tourvest's retail merchandise division and American Foreign Exchange were both benefiting from buoyant trading conditions as a result of the strong inbound tourism that South Africa was enjoying. For the year ended June 30, 2002, Tourvest achieved revenues in excess of R1,3bn and an operating profit of almost R170m. (Miguel de Sousa)