Public safety, as well as a reliable transport system, are some of the key necessities for the development of the tourism industry in any country. This piece of advice emerged today during a bilateral meeting between Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Tourism and the France-South Africa Friendship Group of the French Parliament.
In welcoming the French delegation to Parliament, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Ms Beatrice Ngcobo, acknowledged the good relations that existed between South Africa and France at government level and said the relations could be further enhanced at the level of the legislatures.
“There is a lot that we have learnt from the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Ministers of Tourism in the two countries. We are also aware of the work done by the French government in South Africa, several initiatives which include the training of chefs at the tourism school in the North West Province as well as student exchange programme.
“We are quite excited that France has the fourth highest number of tourists coming to South Africa per annum. We have also learnt that France has a very good domestic tourism and would like to learn how do you do it, because we are battling in that area – we want to learn from those who are doing it well,” said the national Council of Provinces’ House Chairperson for International Relations and Members’ Interests, Ms Masefako Dikgale.
French Senator and President of the Group, Ms Michelle Demessine, said: “Reliable airline companies, trains and other forms of transport are very important tools to boost the development of the tourism industry in any country. Countries must be extremely vigilant, attacks on tourists have seen tourism declines in countries like Egypt while safer countries like Cuba have continued to be popular destinations for tourists,” said Ms Demessine.
During their visit to Parliament, the French Senators also met with Ms Dikgale, who congratulated them on their recent “successful presidential elections”, which saw 39-year-old Mr Emmanuel Macron elected as the youngest president in the history of France.
“South Africa is an important country not only for its role on the African continent, but also in the United Nations and other global platforms. We are convinced that South Africa is a leader in many fields, and particularly in the tourism industry, and has a potential to develop further,” she said, speaking through an interpreter.
She said the Parliament of France is interested in maintaining good relations with the South African Parliament and made a commitment to continue promoting tourism between the two countries, including sharing culinary experiences.
“We hope the engagement is not going to be the last, we will continue to engage on a range of issues of development between the two countries,” said Ms Dikgale.
By Sakhile Mokoena
11 May 2017
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