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Gulf Times: The South African embassy, in co-operation with the South African department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, hosted the first South African Tourism Promotion and Investment workshop at Ritz-Carlton in Qatar.
Dubbed ‘Next Stop South Africa’, the roadshow featured presentations on South Africa as an ideal tourism destination for visitors from the Gulf.Similar workshops are to be held in other GCC states during the week.
Representatives from various sectors of South African government will take part in the event. Investment opportunities, particularly in the property development and tourism industries, for both Qatari and South African companies will be explored.
South Africa has identified the importance of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries in the realisation of its economic growth as envisaged by the Accelerated and Shared Growth of South Africa (ASGISA).
The ASGISA initiative focuses on South Africa’s competitive edge in a number of key industries such as tourism, business process outsourcing, international call centres, information and communication technology, agribusiness and synthetic fuels. It also places an increased focus on South Africa’s infrastructure development.
“We shall be visiting the GCC countries with an open mind, being aware of their collective quests to lure as much trade and investment to our shores, balance of payments, labour and skills development demands”, said Dr Patrick Matlou, deputy director-general for tourism, who will be leading the delegation.
The 2010 Fifa World Cup will focus global attention on South Africa as a preferred destination for tourism, travel, trade and investment. It also heralds a more co-ordinated marketing effort by all those promoting tourism, investment and trade with South Africa abroad.
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