Cape Town – Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille says a new South African Tourism board is expected to be appointed by October.
The recruitment and due processes are underway, and interested parties have until July 6 to apply.
De Lille said this in a statement on Monday, marking 100 days since being appointed in the portfolio.
“The status of the SA Tourism Board is that an advert and call for nominations for members to serve on a full SA Tourism Board is now open until 6 July 2023 and interested parties are encouraged to apply. Details can be found on the Department of Tourism’s website.
“We foresee the appointment of a full and new SA Tourism Board to be completed by October this year after the recruitment and all due processes have been followed and completed,” the minister said.
[MEDIA STATEMENT] Minister @PatriciaDeLille reflects on progress in the tourism department after 100 days in officehttps://t.co/fwVNMsl76m#WeDoTourism pic.twitter.com/yNrfvmR4wX
— Dept of Tourism (@Tourism_gov_za) June 19, 2023
De Lille’s goal is to bring stability and efficiency to the tourism sector and promote inclusive tourism in South Africa.
One of her priorities is to address the backlog of tour operator licenses, and she has been working with the transport minister to reduce red tape and improve the processing time for license applications.
“My first priority in my performance agreement is to address the tour operator licences backlog and in this regard, I met with the Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga as tour operator licences are granted by her department.
“Our task is to reduce red tape and improve the turn-around time for processing tour operator licence applications and renewals.
“By 12 April 2023, the tour operator licence backlog stood at 418, this was down from the initial backlog over 1 000 licence applications last year,” she said.
Another priority is to enhance access to South Africa for visitors by collaborating with the Department of Home Affairs to implement the e-visa system and digitise passenger processing at entry ports.
“The second priority is to improve access to South Africa for visitors by collaborating with the Department of Home Affairs to improve ease of travel through the implementation of the e-visa system and digitising of passenger processing at ports of entry.
“In early March, I met with Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi regarding the challenges with processing visas and Minister Motsoaledi undertook to increase the visa adjudication capacity and to enhance the e-visa system,” said De Lille.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
