South Africa boosting tourist sector

The South African government invited 26 journalists over from Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia last month as part of its efforts to promote tourism and investment. The Jakarta Post's reporter Ivy Susanti filed her report.

JOHANNESBURG (JP): When American Hasim Rahman surprisingly floored British Lennox Lewis last week, the globally televised heavyweight bout also promoted South Africa as a major holiday destination.

The boxing event took place at the Carnival City casino near Johannesburg, an unusual break from the customary venues of Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay hotel, Nevada or Madison Square Garden in New York.

The US$111 million Carnival City is the first mega casino to have been built in South Africa on 44-hectares of wasteland in Brakpan industrial city, about a 40-minute ride from Johannesburg.

The Carnival city is only one of a number of world class facilities that South Africa boasts to attract visitors.

The tourism board has estimated that tourism generates more than US$10 billion per annum. Over 60 airlines now land at South African destinations.

The fastest-growing sector within the industry is ecotourism which has investment and development potential while adventure, conference, cultural and sports tourism are growing, according to the board.

South Africa has claimed itself as the fastest-growing destination in the world. Between 1994 and 1995 alone, tourist arrivals increased by 52 percent, the official statistics show.

The Chief Executive Officer of South African Tourism (SATOUR), Moss R. Mashishi, said that in 1998 the tourism industry contributed some 6.2 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP).

He said that the tourism economy, which includes industry and related or dependent activities, contributed 8.2 percent to GDP.

"The largest number of visitors came from the United Kingdom (UK) at around 350,000 people annually, followed by Germany with 260,000 visitors and the U.S. 240,000," he said.

He said that South Africa had spent half of its annual budget to boost its tourism sector, starting this year.

"We want to consolidate the top three markets: the UK, Germany and the U.S. We also want to attract more tourists from France, the Netherlands and Italy. We will spend about 15 percent of the budget for Asian tourists," he said.

Destinations

Another popular resort is Sun City, dubbed a "Kingdom of Pleasure", in the North West Province, some 180 kilometers from Johannesburg.

The City's flagship hotel, the 100-hectare Palace of the Lost City, is said to be popular among world celebrities. Its only king suite costs $5,000 per night.

According to Herliane Portenschlager, Sun City's international marketing and deputy public relations manager, pop star Michael Jackson is a frequent guest at the hotel.

"He comes twice a year and spends about three weeks in Sun City. When he is here, he likes to visit the Valley of Waves and Waterworld where he goes parasailing," she said.

After the government legalized gambling in 1996, the gaming industry in South Africa showed a high growth over the last four years, attracting large foreign investment and local interest.

The National Gambling Act allows for a maximum of 40 casino licenses, which are allocated by the respective provincial authorities and include the 17 apartheid-era licenses held by Sun International South Africa (SISA). SISA was the only legalized gambling operator in that era in the so-called "independent" homeland states (Transkei, Bophututswana, Venda and Ciskei).

The Act also allows for the provision of limited payout machines (LPMs), out-of-casino slot machines with smaller payouts, bingo halls, and a National Lottery, which was launched in March 2000.

The state is currently reviewing its position on Internet gambling, and legislation is expected on this shortly.

Townships

In the country where an apartheid policy prevailed for 46 years, it would be hard to miss visiting the townships which are home to the native black South Africans.

A good example for tourists to see is South West Township or Soweto, which is about 15 minutes drive from downtown Johannesburg in Gauteng province. It is popular among foreign dignitaries visiting South Africa.

The provincial and metropolitan governments and the Soweto Heritage Trust have set about upgrading tourist facilities in the area, beginning with the Hector Peterson Memorial.

Soweto is home to most of Johannesburg's work force. It's name became popular because of the liberation struggle that began here and also for the fact that it is the hometown of two South African Nobel prize winners, former president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Other interesting townships are Sharpeville, a city that was prominent in the historic struggle for the abolition of apartheid, and Alexandra, an overpopulated town alongside Johannesburg's wealthiest northern suburbs, housing the 1999 All- Africa Games athletes' village.

A place of historical interest is Robben Island prison, which has been declared a World Heritage site. Mandela spent almost 27 years in this prison, a 45 minute ferry ride from Cape Town.

While in Cape Town, you may visit the famous Stellenbosch wine route. Many vineyards in South Africa were established about three centuries ago.

The waterfront city is also home to the internationally famous landmark of Table Mountain. The Cape is now promoting conference tourism.

Wildlife

Like other places in the continent, South Africa is home to a wide variety of the world's wildlife.

Ian MacDonald, head of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) in South Africa, once described the country as the "one percent country" because it covers about one percent of the world's ground surface and its population of 43.2 million people is less than one percent of the global population.

But when it comes to nature, South Africa has 5.8 percent of the world's mammals, 4.6 percent of its reptiles, 8 percent of the world's bird species, 16 percent of total marine fish, 5.5 percent of documented insects, 2.1 percent of amphibians and 1.3 percent of freshwater fish. About 7.5 percent of its higher plant species, including a third of all succulents and about 80 percent of South Africa's seed plants are not found anywhere else in the world.

You can find those living creatures at national parks and some other popular provincial parks, apart from which there are countless private game reserves which offer them sanctuary.