Decline in local tourists must be discussed - CTRU

He told the Western Cape Legislature's Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Development that Gauteng had won the title for drawing the most football tourists when South Africa hosted Africa's first World Cup last year. Presenting his 2010/2011 annual report, Gilfellan said that the Western Cape's achievement was truly significant, considering that 60% of matches were played up north. He said tourism had arguably become the Western Cape's number one growth industry.

Gilfellan cautioned, however, that the spike in the numbers of foreign visitors was "blighted' by a decline in domestic tourism. Looking at global trends, the world economic strain was affecting South Africa. He called for an honest and open conversation between the tourism industry, national government, business, labour and different communities involved in tourism.

Staff performed well in difficult circumstances

These parties should discuss perceptions of over-pricing, rising operational costs, weak demand from the traditional European markets, oversupply of accommodation and the costs of air tickets. He said CTRU, the Western Cape's official destination marketing authority, has been losing staff since the announcement in July 2010 of plans to form one Economic Development Partnership. Members of staff were also uncertain about their future.

"Despite this my team has maintained their focus on delivering high quality marketing services on behalf of the destination and its people. With a relatively non-competitive marketing budget of R18 million, CTRU, in close collaboration with industry partners, has managed to unlock a return of R3 billion on behalf of the Western Cape and its people. If one adds to this the value of 42 pending conference bids, the figure jumps to R4.1 billion."

This year CTRU also received its sixth successive unqualified audit report from the Auditor-General. "Given the Auditor-General's pronouncement on the perilous state of corporate governance in our country; this is not an achievement to be scoffed at." Looking ahead, Gilfellan said that CTRU was about to launch its Welcome Summer Marketing Campaign, which last year saw almost 260 000 visitors travelling through the Western Cape.