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South African Business 2019 edition

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The 2019 edition of South African Business is the seventh edition of this annual guide to business and investment in South Africa. Regular pages cover all the main economic sectors of the South African economy and give a snapshot of each of the country’s provincial economies. Feature articles on topical issues such as Special Economic Zones and African trade provide unique insights, together with comprehensive overviews of critical economic sectors. Other special features focus on the exciting new possibilities in renewable energy, airports as engines of regional growth and the maritime sector as an entirely new prospect for South African entrepreneurs and businesses. South African Business is complemented by nine regional publications covering the business and investment environment in each of South Africa’s provinces. The e-book editions can be viewed at www.globalafricanetwork.com

OVERVIEW Tourism and

OVERVIEW Tourism and events The events and conferences sector is growing across the country. South Africa gained its 10th World Heritage Site in 2018, opening up the possibility of a new type of niche tourism for the country and Mpumalanga in particular. A three-billion-year-old micro-fossil found in the Makhonjwa Mountains near Barberton and the border with Swaziland is thought to be the oldest sign of life on the planet. Now the Makhonjwa Mountains, themselves somewhere between 3.2-billion and 3.6-billion years old, have been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational‚ Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The tourist offering near Barberton has been branded the Genesis route. There are 711 745 people employed in the tourism industry, with road transport (29%), food and beverages (20%) and accommodation (19%) absorbing the largest numbers. The sector contributes 9% to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) and the National Department of Tourism has ambitious growth targets. It wants to see tourism contribute R1-trillion to GDP and create an additional 300 000 jobs by 2026. Tourist numbers are going up, both from traditional markets and from newer markets like China and India. In 2017, South Africa hosted SECTOR INSIGHT A new World Heritage Site has been declared in Mpumalanga. • The Cape Town International Convention Centre (pictured) has increased capacity and flexibility. 10.2-million tourists. This represented a small increase of just 2% over the previous year, but that figure was a 10% improvement on the year before. The rise in tourist numbers follows determined efforts by national and provincial tourism bodies to promote the country. In Mpumalanga, links to BRICS SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2019 134

OVERVIEW countries have yielded results and in KwaZulu-Natal there has been a strong focus on the meetings, incentives, conference and exhibition sector (MICE). A Western Cape project to increase the number of seats on routes to and from Cape Town called Cape Town Air Access has been spectacularly successful. Cape Town International Airport’s capacity has increased by more than 600 000 seats in the two years that the programme has been running. The Port of Cape Town has launched its dedicated cruiseship terminal, and the area between the terminal and the Cape Town International Convention Centre is being developed. The precinct, called the Yacht Club, includes a hotel, residential and commercial complex owned by the Amdec Group, and is linked to the Waterfront via an extension of the existing canal. In Durban, a joint venture between MSA Cruises SA and Africa Armada Consortium will spend R175-million on the financing‚ construction‚ maintenance and operation of a cruise terminal for a 25-year concession period. The terminal should be operational in October 2019. A lot of effort has gone into increasing the number of South Africans who take trips within the country. A Tourism Incentive Programme (TIP) has been launched by the National Department of Tourism. Tourism has been earmarked as one of the six key growth sectors in national government’s New Growth Path. The Industrial Development Corporation has committed to investing R2-billion in local resorts (and in the African hotel market). There are several unused or under-used facilities. One suggestion is that former military bases could be converted into low-fee resorts. Other possible niche sectors include astrology and adventure tourism. An Enterprise Development Project Management Unit (PMU) has been established. Among the PMU’s tasks will be to manage an Enterprise Development Online Information Portal for SMMEs. South Africa’s tourism offering is incredibly diverse. Superb natural beauty, excellent beaches (45 have Blue Flag status), incomparable wildlife, vibrant cities and cultural and heritage attractions that represent a heterogeneous population and a dramatic history, South Africa has it all. Every province has superb natural assets. In the Northern Cape these include wonderful spring flower displays, spectacular arid areas and brilliantly clear night skies for sky-gazers. There are no fewer than six national parks and five provincial reserves in the province, each showing off distinct geographical and biological features. Culture and heritage accounts for 40% of world tourism and is one of the fastest-growing sub-sectors. The other nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Africa are: Robben Island Museum, Cradle of Humankind, Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, uKhahlamba Drakensberg (newly named Maloti Drakensberg Transfrontier Park), Richtersveld, Cape Floral Kingdom, Khomani Cultural Landscape and Vredefort Dome. Popular history or cultural sites include the Nelson Mandela Museum, Hector Petersen Memorial, Apartheid Museum, Freedom Park, Voortrekker Monument, Constitution Hill, District Six Museum and the Bo-Kaap Museum. There are opportunities to further develop the full potential of tourism at heritage sites. Events A total of 34 000 international delegates attended conferences in Cape Town in 2017, helping to secure the city’s number one spot in Africa for the 10th year in a row for the African city hosting the most international association meetings. The ranking is awarded by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). The Cape Town and the Western Cape Convention Bureau, a Wesgro unit, promotes the Cape as a venue and assists with bids, planning support and on-site services. In the first quarter of 2018, nine bids were won with an estimated economic impact of R336- million and attendance of more than 9 000 delegates. 135 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2019

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