Official body established to promote Newcastle tourism

It is official- Newcastle has become part of the bigger tourism picture, not only in KwaZulu-Natal, but South Africa as a whole.

Two years ago, the Newcastle Municipality invited members of the public and the tourism industry to apply to become pioneers in setting up a Community Tourism Organisation (CTO) for Newcastle.

The first Executive Committee was responsible for setting up the CTO, preparing documentation like a constution and ensuring the overall success of the organisation.

“Today, two years later, we would like to announce the CTO is up and running, registered and ready to go,” said chairman of the Newcastle CTO, Johan Pieters.

A dedicated team worked tirelessly since the project’s inception. The previous chairman, Wayne Smith, was commended for his hard work, along with Johan Pieters and Sibusiso Mkhulise.

Newcastle Municipality’s Ferdie Alberts and Sibonelo Nzimandes were thanked for their leadership and help to ensure the successful establishment of a CTO in Newcastle.

The executive team, Johan Pieters (Chairman), Sibusiso Mkhulise (Vice chairman), Siephan Atterbury (Treasurer) and Nhlanhla Madonsela (Secretary) are set on ensuring a smooth implementation and introduction of the CTO to all the tourism establishments in and around Newcastle.

So, what is a CTO?

Legislation requires all businesses providing services to tourists to be registered with provincial tourism authority, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal.

A Community Tourism Organisation is community-owned and managed for the promotion of member organisations and the provision of information to tourists.

The concept of community-based organisations is advocated by the White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa (1996).

Which organisations should become CTO members?

– Hotels

– Bed and Breakfasts

– Restaurants

– Tour Operators

– Events Companies.

The Newcastle CTO is now in the process of finalising the Application Forms Act.

“We hope to have an official launch of the CTO in the next month or two, whereafter a meeting will be arranged where the “new” executive team will be elected to ensure the continuous success of the CTO,” explained Mr Pieters.

The Mission Statement for the CTO as per the constitution is to maximise and exploit the potential tourism can offer Newcastle by-

– Representing its individual members at local and provincial level.

– Providing support and strengthening the position of its members in the tourism industry, to the benefit of all members and that of the tourism industry at large.

– By promoting the interests of the previously disadvantaged members of its community through ongoing training and internships.

– Assisting all tourism establishments with the administrative and legal requirements of all tourism industry regulations.

– Providing a platform and unified voice for all tourism stakeholders and related businesses in Newcastle.

– Taking the necessary steps to protect all objects and places of historical importance and to have such objects and places proclaimed (where applicable to our CTO).

To ensure an invite to the launch, email your company name, the owner’s details, email address, physical address, cell-phone number and type of business to cto@newcastle.co.za