Programme Director
Honourable MEC
Directors-Generals
Provincial Heads of Departments
Provincial Tourist Guides Registrars
Chief Executive Officers of various stakeholders in the Tourism Industry
Provincial Tourist Guides Associations
Members of the International and Local Media
Ladies and Gentlemen


In the Cape Argus dated 15 November 2005, Maureen Marud wrote: ”A tour guide who claims that the highest mountain in Africa is Table Mountain is probably operating illegally”. According to the newspaper, these were the observations of Mervyn Sparks, a Cape Town registered tourist guide, who said:” the visitors experience can be absolutely disastrous if the guide is not knowledgeable and gives misleading information.” Sparks overheard an untrained tour guide telling visitors to Table Mountain that it is the highest mountain in Africa!

Ladies and Gentlemen the above article and comments that are recorded therein aptly demonstrate that the concerns about illegal tourist guiding is not only a sensationalist hype by the media community but is also observed by tourist guides themselves as having the potential to dwindle their reputation. Thus this conscious effort by our department to intervene and launch deliberate interventionist programmes such as the one prompts this occasion.

Our linkages with other government departments such as Justice and Constitutional Development, Safety and Security and Trade and Security are going to be critical as we rollout this campaign. Equally our partnership with provincial departments and relevant formations at that level is guaranteed to render this project to resounding success.

As you may have been informed, our Acting National and Provincial Registrars accompanied the Chief Director to Table Mountain to inspect whether tourist guides that were operation that route were currently registered.

I am happy to inform you that of the roughly 32 tourist guides that our team met with, only nine had not renewed their registrations, effectively meaning that they are operating illegally according to the stipulations of the Act. The positive spin-off is that one tourist guide came to renew registration shortly after meeting the team! Most of the tourist guides praised government for their efforts in dealing with the illegal guides.

You will recall that the problem of illegal tourist guiding is not located within one province to the extent that we envisage rolling out this campaign throughout the country as my colleague has indicated in her opening address. We are also aware, from our international marketing intelligence that our competitors and their media use issues such as safety and security, violence and illegal tourist guiding to paint a gloomy picture about the South African tourism environment.

It is against this background that we appeal to the entire tourism industry to join hands with us as we seek to urgently challenge these issues, lest they thwart our intention to contribute towards economic growth that we have committed to. Furthermore, our state of readiness for the 2010 Soccer World Cup will be tested by how we effectively address issues that may impact on tourist growth in South Africa.

Thus we take opportunity to thank the province for hosting this Day, the Acting Provincial Registrar and her staff for working tirelessly so that we see ourselves gathered here and the Tourists Guides themselves, whom we are confident, are going to be pivotal in the delivery of this project. We would like to acknowledge and thank the following sponsors: Cape Town Routes Unlimited, Metropolitan, Bombay Bazaars and the Department of the Premier.

In the above regard we are inclined to agree with Mervyn Sparks assessment that “tourist guides are trained to be ambassadors for South Africa…The tourist guide code of ethics called on professional guides to always be willing to provide optimum support and quality service to all tourist”


I THANK YOU

Welkome, MEC for Finance and Tourism Ms Lynne Brown
Keynote Address, Ms Bulelwa Seti (Chief Director: Tourism Support DEAT)