Tourism issues raised to the minister

Mpumalanga’s beauty is so irresistible, even God has a window.
The minister of tourism, Mr Derek Hanekom, also could not stay away from such unfathomable natural splendour.

He recently embarked on a tour to key tourism destinations in the province, where stakeholders raised issues around developments in the sector.

“This is not my first time visiting this beautiful province, one can never visit enough of such attractiveness. Although we are exposed to such nature, we should also acknowledge that we are not the only country with the Big 5, or natural sights, hence we should work on developing ourselves all the time.

“We need to give tourists the reason for us to be their preferred choice whenever they think of a holiday or anything along those lines,” said Hanekom.

The tour kick-started on a Friday morning, after a session during which issues were raised by the stakeholders in the presence of MEC, Mr Eric Kholwane. Crime, corruption and potholes seemed to be prevalent and common among the stakeholders in the house.

“Our tourists have actually called back to say that they wouldn’t come back again after the treatment received from our traffic officers.

It pains us to know that the same people who are supposed to help us develop the sector, are the ones dragging us down. They ask for ridiculous bribes from the tourists, it’s really embarrassing,” said one unhappy representative.

Hazyview also came under the spotlight because of the visitors being robbed.

“Our tourists are robbed and the justice system doesn’t assist us at all. Our area is underdeveloped, it’s really a shame that the nature we pride ourselves with, will suffer the consequences of our actions.

“I can’t even mention the issue of potholes on the roads to these destinations, it’s despicable. We have gone from second to fourth in the preferred destinations of tourism in the country, we need help,” said another stakeholder.

Kholwane jumped in on the matter and assured them that the issues would be addressed as soon as possible.

“We appreciate the fact that you are coming out and saying all of these things. They will be addressed, I encourage you to come through to my office and we work together in redressing these faults within the sector,” he said.

Hanekom reiterated that a strong relationship between Kholwane and the stakeholders would help address the imbalances in the sector.

“Have a relationship with your MEC, that’s what he is there for. It’s even much better for Mpumalanga, because you have these resources naturally, you just have to work on enhancing and attracting tourists to them.”

The tour was concluded by visits to God’s Window, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, Pilgrim’s Rest, Three Rondavels and Makhonjwa Mountains.