This was revealed by the Western Cape Department Economic Development and Tourism (WCDEDT) during a tourism stakeholder meeting held last Thursday at the George Civic Centre.
Labeeqah Schuurman, the department's chief director of tourism, art and entertainment, said this is one of the six niche markets that has been identified in compiling the draft five year tourism strategy for the province.
The other five tourism products identified are design, culture, wine and cuisine, youth and student, agri-tourism and adventure tourism experiences.
Among the activities identified specifically for the Garden Route and Klein Karoo are:
- Trail adventure
- Ocean adventure
- Health/Surgery/Spa
- Agri-tourism (non-wine)
- Whale watching
- Bird watching
- Short break holidays
- Overnight stop
- Backpacking and youth travel
- Gay tourism
- Community participation
The department aims to be involved in the up-skilling of existing tour guides. Other objectives are to finalise a Western Cape Sector Skills Plan for the tourism industry. This includes creating a pool of learners/students who are skilled and ready to be employed. The promoting of a culture of service excellence in the current workforce is also foreseen.
Final strategy
The final tourism strategy plan is to be presented by the Western Cape Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Alan Winde on 26 September at a plenary stakeholder session.
Job creation
During the meeting Labeeqah emphasised the earning potential of tourism worldwide, as well as in South Africa. In the Western Cape in 2013, one million international visitors (foreign direct spend) spent R12,7-billion (Jan-Sep 2013 only) and there were 1,1 million domestic trips recorded, but the income derived therefrom was not quantified.
According to Winde, the Western Cape Government aims to grow the tourism industry's contribution to the region's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 10% to 15% by 2020. Addressing industry blockages and reducing red tape with relevant stakeholders on a case-by-case basis is one of his stated aims.
The following tourism routes have been identified:
Route 1: City to West Coast
Route 2: City to Central Karoo via the Cape Winelands
Route 3: City to Garden Route through the Overberg
The development of these tourism routes must fundamentally happen at local level with active participation and buy-in from local government and the private sector (suppliers of the tourism offerings). Finally, Labeeqah said the alignment of a national tourism plan with all tiers of government is a long-term objective.
ARTICLE: PAULINE LOURENS, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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