Tourism Dialogue in China to attract even more visitors to South Africa

TTourism Dialogue in China to attract even more visitors to South Africa

About 31 500 Chinese tourists visited South Africa between January and October 2023, with the year-on-year growth rate of 231,8% when compared to the same period in 2022. The recently held South Africa Tourism Dialogue in Kempinski Hotel Beijing Yansha Center, in China is one of the successful steps that South Africa is taking to ensure that even more visitors from this region choose to visit South Africa.

Honourable Minister of Tourism in South Africa, Patricia de Lille; His Excellency Siyabonga Cwele, South African Ambassador to China;  Director-General of the National Department of Tourism Mr. Victor Tharage; and  Mr. Gcobani Mancotywa, Regional General Manager of Asiatour/Australasia/Middle East of South African Tourism and a number of national ambassadors were present at the Tourism Dialogue joined by nearly 60 core Chinese media and travel bloggers, and 40 travel industry partners. The invited VIPs attended also attended formal dinner, where they enjoyed the delicacies and dynamic South African style performances

During the Tourism Dialogue, H.E Siyabonga Cwele expressed that the hospitality from Chinese people made him feel like China is his second home.

Address by H.E Siyabonga Cwele,  South African Ambassador to China

This year coincides with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa, and cooperation between the two sides.

On August 22 this year, His Excellency President Xi Jinping met with His Excellency Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and reached an important consensus to join hands to promote China-South Africa cooperation for the future. It is expected that under the mutual trust, the cooperation between South Africa and China in the field of tourism will become closer and closer.

During the Tourism Dialogue session, Minister Patricia de Lille said: "We reaffirm the need to implement and further strengthen social exchanges and cooperation on culture, women, youth, education, sports, health, tourism and other fields to deepen mutual understanding and friendship. We warmly welcomed the announcement by the Chinese authorities of South Africa being amongst the first 20 countries approved for outbound group tourism from China. In addition, South Africa supports the increase in the frequency of direct flights between South Africa and China to bring convenient services to more Chinese travellers. We have prioritised the facilitation of Mandarin language training through the Chinese Culture International Exchange Centre.”

Keynote Speech by Honourable Minister of Tourism in South Africa, Patricia de Lille

In addition, the guests watched a global promotional video "The Best of Us" released by the South African Tourism, which shows the magnificent scenery of South Africa and the country's outstanding achievements on the global stage in various fields such as sports, arts, culture and academics. During the question-and-answer session at the end of the dialogue, Chinese core media and travel industry representatives enthusiastically raised questions related to the tourism destination recommendations, visa policies, travel safety issues and other related issues further providing a more robust, engaging and interactive session.

South African Tourism 2023 Beijing Seminar Free Question Session

Following the dialogue session was a formal dinner session, where guests were treated to a delightful band performance while enjoying exquisite delicacies.  Ms. Eli Zaelo, a South African singer, opened the dinner with a popular Chinese song "Sweet Honey", followed by a number of passionate and exuberant South African-style melodies.

Ms. ELI ZAELO, South African singer

The success of this event highlights South Africa's charm as a global tourism hub. The rich and varied cultural heritage, natural beauty and diversity of the country's attractions made the guests look forward to visiting South Africa.

For more information contact:

Thandiwe Mathibela

GM: PR, Communications and Stakeholder Relations

Email: mediaq@southafrica.net

Website: www.southafrica.net OR

www.southafricantourism.cn

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