Speaking at the famous Cycad Nature Reserve just 300m from the royal kraal of Queen Modjadji VII, Schalkwyk said domestic tourism - which he described as the backbone of the industry - has seen an increase in the percentage spend on holiday travel, from 22% in 2009 to 31% to in 2010.
However, the number of domestic trips and domestic travel's total annual spend decreased slightly in 2010 compared to 2009, standing at 29.7 million from 30.3 million and R21.1 billion from R22.4 billion, respectively.
Tremendous growth
Despite these slight decreases, the minister said the industry has seen tremendous growth last year, adding that the most important part is to have a proper tourism policy in place to ensure that the industry flourishes smoothly. "We must allow ourselves a pat in the back because we have held our ground, and this has laid a firm foundation for years to come," the former leader of the now-defunct New National Party said.
Domestic tourism remains the largest contributor to tourism volume in SA, with 79% of all volume in 2010 derived from domestic tourists, according to official statistics.
"The message is clear here: tourism and culture are related and we are going to increase our marketing resources this year to showcase our hidden treasures to our citizens. SA has a very young population that has begun to travel," South African Tourism CEO Thandiwe January-Mclean said.
"We are going to work together with our partners such as Kulula.com, MTN Travel, Pick n Pay Travel, Flight Centre and Thompsons Holidays to achieve those goals," she pointed out.
Joint marketing agreements (JMAs) are useful in terms of offering South Africans accessible and affordable holiday deals and showing that a person with a gross monthly income of between R5000 and R15 000 can afford to travel in their own country, SA Tourism said.
"The media are also a very important part of this campaign, and it was very important that you took time to be part of this trip," January-Mclean, the former SA ambassador to Portugal, said.
More than 30 journalists took part in the Sho't Left discovery expedition that trekked to Limpopo this week to explore that province's hidden treasures, which include misty mountains, serene hills, splendid valleys and dams, and an unending green landscape watching over Tzaneen and the Modjadji Traditional Authority.
The Cycad Modjadji Nature Reserve, where the Sho't Left 2011/2012 campaign was launched yesterday, is home to over 10 000 cycad trees, some of them dating back 6000 years ago. Limpopo was ranked fifth (9%) in 2010 in terms of source markets of domestic travellers, just lying behind Eastern Cape (10%), Western Cape (11%), Kwazulu-Natal (24%) and Gautrain (32%).
The Sho't Left discovery expedition, which was made possible by SA Tourism in partnership with Land Rover and Limpopo and Parks Tourism, triumphantly returned to Johannesburg last night.
For more info, go to www.shotleft.co.za, www.southafrica.net/shotleft and www.golimpopo.com and follow @ShotLeft, @GoToSouthAfrica and @GoLimpopo on Twitter.
