Small businesses have been encouraged to apply for opportunities provided by the Department of Tourism.
“The Department of Tourism is dedicated to creating an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient tourism economy. We have a variety of programmes with the specific aim of promoting tourism, alleviating poverty and creating jobs,” Tourism Deputy Minister Maggie Sotyu said.
Addressing a stakeholder engagement at the Fezile Dabi District Municipality in the Free State, the Deputy Minister said small businesses face challenges that threaten their survival and growth.
These include limited access to funding and financial support, skills gap in business management and digital transformation, market access and a lack of exposure to international tourists.
“As the government, our role is to enable and empower small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) to overcome these barriers and it is our duty to maximise every opportunity to empower these enterprises.
“Embracing sustainable tourism by black-owned enterprises is not just about being part of a global trend, but is a necessity for resilience, competitiveness and profitability,” the Deputy Minister said on Friday.
The department’s Market Access Support Programme offers financial support to small tourism enterprises to exhibit at tourism platforms.
“I want to urge you to visit the Department of Tourism website at www.tourism.gov.za and look at this Market Access Support Incentive Programme.
“This week we are assisting 49 tourism SMMEs [small, medium, and micro enterprises] to promote their services at the World Travel Market Africa in Cape Town. We also want to encourage you to apply for our Green Tourism Incentive Programme which offers a win-win solution to tourism establishments and our greening objectives,” the Deputy Minister said.
The Green Tourism Incentive Programme is a resource efficiency programme which aims to support tourism enterprises to reduce the cost of investing in energy and water efficient solutions.
“This incentive can greatly assist a tourism establishment to reduce their electricity and water bills in the long term. The department also established a Tourism Transformation Fund and Tourism Equity Fund to support the transformation efforts in the sector.
“The Transformation Fund offers a combination of debt finance and grant funding for new and expansion tourism development projects with majority black shareholding,” she said.
For tourist guides, the department has a number of programmes including language training.
“We recently advertised for youth to apply for tourist guide training in Vredefort Dome and we are currently conducting tourist guide training in Golden Gate National Park.
“For youth in tourism, the department offers annually a bursary programme and learnership programmes, focusing on professional cooking, wine appreciation and hospitality, targeting youth with a specific interest in tourism,” said the Deputy Minister. –SAnews.gov.za
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