Article written by Ian Kilbride and published in IOL. Paradoxically, much good has emerged from South African Tourism’s controversial R1billion shirt-sleeve sponsorship of English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspurs. A significant positive to emerge from the debacle is that since its detail was leaked to investigative journalists, the issue has galvanised an informal coalition of public opinion, civil society, trade unions, parliament and reportedly, even the State President. Despite the controversy, a strong, persuasive and defensible case can be made for South Africa significantly boosting, rather than curtailing, its international marketing and tourism budget, including that of international sports sponsorship. Indeed, at the global level, South Africa enjoys significant comparative advantages that should be optimised to enjoy the full local economic multiplier effect of international tourism. To place this in perspective, 2022 recorded some 917 million tourist arrivals globally, generating revenues in excess of $636 billion and still growing rapidly in the post-Covid recovery period. Currently, South Africa attracts just 10 million tourists annually, generating in excess of $13 billion, or R234 billion. Notably, South Africa only ranks third in the African tourism table, behind Egypt and Morocco and ahead of Tunisia. SA tourism statistics require a note of caution, […]
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