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Mr Master of Ceremonies, Your Worship the Mayor, ladies and gentlemen, people living in this part of our country are indeed lucky. The British author, Barrow, wrote about it as follows:
"The whole country is boldly marked, and most magnificently clothed, and may be considered, beyond comparison, as the grandest and most beautiful part of Southern Africa"
The description of this part of our country by the tourism industry as the Garden Route is also very apt.
But, as a true Transkeian, I must differ and say that your coastline is almost as beautiful as the Wild Coast!

There are indeed few places in South Africa where nature brought together so many unique and scenic features as here in the Tsitsikamma. This place is blessed with one of the most scenic coastlines in South Africa, set against a backdrop of the magnificent Tsitsikamma and Outeniqua Mountains. The Tsitsikamma and Knysna forests are in a excellent unspoilt state and the fynbos boasts flowers all-year round. Add to this the wildlife of the forests, the rivers and estuaries, the sea and the fynbos and you will realise that one cannot ask for much more.

During the last few days many people must have experienced for the first time the magic of wild places.

When one enters the cathedral-like silence and twilight of a forest, and you open all your senses to the experience, there comes a time of sudden revelation. You suddenly realise that you first see and only later you really look, that you first hear and only later listen, that you touch and only later feel. You realise that no computer can rival the intricacies of a leaf, that no artist can repeat the design of a flower, that no engineer can match the design of a yellowwood trunk. Finally, you will be able to hear the music of the earth, the poetry of silence, the song of the wind.

It is, ladies and gentlemen, unnecessary for me to tell you that your area is possibly one of those areas in South Africa best suited to huge ecotourism development. The fact that you created this opportunity for people to encounter your part of the world in an intimate experience, confirms it. Time will, however, prove how effectively you have marketed and looked after this area. You should not fall into the trap of over-utilisation. In European countries people have come to realise that while their marketing was excellent, their conservation measures were less effective. In the Alps, little has remained of the charm and tranquillity of a true mountain wilderness. There are just too many people around.

All the traditional Alpine villages have disappeared behind the facades of modern hotels and is-resorts. The hospitality of true alpine people, the charm of quaint little villages and the grandeur of mountain scenery are disappearing behind highways, hotel jobs and the incessant noise of disco's and traffic. This is also true for the south coast of Natal where the once magnificent scenery disappeared behind high blocks of holiday flats. Do not destroy the very fabric of this place that is presently responsible for your good tourism potential. Keep your "unique selling features", as the White Paper on Tourism calls it, intact.

The White Paper states, and I quote:

"Before particular attractions are developed, they will have to be investigated to determine their capacity to accommodate tourism activity. Carrying capacity is generally considered to be the limit of tourist activity, beyond which facilities become saturated, ecosystems, threatened, visitor enjoyment and community values diminished, and when costs incurred exceed benefits. Mass tourism can have many negative results, if not properly planned and managed, and even destroy the ecologically attractive atmosphere of a destination or a community's traditional way of life; which may have been the prime attraction in the first instance."

This statement in the White Paper ties in nicely with the definition of ecotourism by the Ecotourism Society in Alexandria, Virginia, USA, which states: Ecotourism is responsible travel that conserves natural environs and sustains the well-being of people."

Many experts regard tourism not only as the best hope for preserving the world's threatened rain forests, but as the best means of preserving the cultures and environmental stewardship of indigenous peoples. But there tend to be more questions than answers. How much development? In what manner? How much tourists are enough? How can we co-ordinate tour operators, government departments, environmentalists, local residents, and the tourists themselves?

Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, neither I nor the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, or Satour, can supply you with all the answers. The time is past when central government made all the decisions for every community. One of the basic strategies of the RDP is the democratisation of the state and society. What does it mean? In simple terms it means that people must be able to decide for themselves about their future, about their environment and about themselves. They can only do that if they are informed and equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills. The Satour policy document, Tourism and the Environment, sets three prerequisites for ecotourism development, namely; equitable access to resources, sustainable yield and community benefits.

I was widely quoted when I spoke at a meeting of the regional committee of the International Conservation Union in Pilanesberg about a month ago. I said that we are still not ready for an influx of international tourists, because our services are too shoddy and unprofessional, information brochures for tourists in most cases unprofessional or non-existent, our public transport unreliable and the crime rate still one of the highest in the world. I still maintain that this is so.

If you really want the tourist industry in this part of the world to grow, you as peole of this area need to do embark on various projects.

You need to:

* draft a list of needs and potential tourism resources in collaboration with the local community and all roll players;

* compile a comprehensive tourism plan which indicates selling features, constraints, carrying capacity, possible improvements, conservation measures, etc;

* embark on a education programme with the local people to sensitise them to their own and the tourists' needs;

* improve on standards of service and levels of friendliness at all public places and in the street;

* improve on your information programmes and brochures at nature reserves and other tourists attractions. Typed and photocopied papers are not good enough. Tourists are willing to pay for good information. You can even make some money out of this;

* improve public transport to points of interest especially during the high season; and

* lastly, find support for your efforts with local and provincial government and the private sector.

People in big organisations will be much more willing to help, if you try to help yourself.

While I agree that the window of opportunity for the South African tourism industry has at last opened to the world outside, we must get our houses in order, before the rush of tourists catches us unawares.

In closing, allow me to once again congratulate you on your initiatives in marketing this green country. I trust that your programme had the success you hoped for and that the next few days will even be better. Thank you for honouring me with your invitation to share the attractions of your lovely country.

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