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The Chairperson,
Honourable Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen

The 26th of June 1996, marked a very important event in the history of the Tourism Industry in South Africa since the 1994 democratic elections - the launch of the Tourism White Paper.

This White Paper is a result of hard work and sacrifice from dedicated South Africans who are determined to ensure that the Tourism Industry is positioned as a strategic priority in the hearts and minds of all South Africans. The White Paper on Tourism serves as a policy framework and guidelines for tourism development and promotion in South Africa.

In the past the ports were really "small islands" accessible only to a chosen few. Today things are changing. With the resurgence of democracy, a more inclusive approach needs to be developed. When it comes to the management of public assets like nature reserves, public parks, ports etc., the 'Command and Control' management style must give way to participative management. In this way the people of South Africa will regain their pride.

Mr Chairperson, I have been pertinently requested to incorporate in my speech, those aspects that in my view, should relate to activities that the Port Tourism Forum should be involved in.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would not want to be prescriptive. Taking into consideration the fact that the tourism industry is not mutually exclusive from other sectors, I would urge the members of this Forum to heed particularly those factors that have been listed as critical success factors in the National White Paper on Tourism.

I am aware that you have already identified some of these factors as they are encapsulated in your feasibility study report on the Port Tourism Development Programme, and these are:

the development of sustainable economic programmes.
the involvement of the local communities and previously disadvantaged groups.
training education and awareness creation.
addressing the social, political and crime problems.
the necessary inter-sectoral linkages which enable the optimal rationalisation of scarce resources.

It is very easy to adopt a narrow approach on the activities of your Forum in regard to tourism development programme as indicated.

Of paramount importance is to take into account the common expression of "other things remaining the same", which in reality relates to respective variables that have a potential impact on the environment. In this regard these variables may be interpreted to be those critical success factors alluded to earlier. These factors have some impact on the meaningful growth of tourism.

At this point, ladies and gentlemen, I need to point out that your geographical area is well endowed with the right mix of tourism pull factors, both natural and man-made.

You have the sea, the sun, culture as well as fauna and flora. You have in addition the necessary tourism infrastructure that is vital for the success of the tourism industry. This area is also in the process of acquiring one of the biggest and modern conference facilities in the country and there is a possibility of the Info African Centre being opened at the Durban International Airport. In my view therefore, if all of these are put to good use, coupled with a consideration of all those factors considered to be critical for your success, you will be moving in the right direction.

Mr Chairperson, allow me to share with you my knowledge or a similar venture in another part of the world. A few years ago, Portsmouth which used to be a naval harbour on the South Coast of Britain, suffered a terrible economic setback.

Where previously it used to provide employment opportunities to approximately 40 000 people, the British Government decided to scale down on naval activities. This had disastrous effects on the naval employment opportunities of this town. At the end only about 2000 jobs remained .

The people of this town, did not sit down and bemoan their setback. They quickly reassessed their position and drew up a strategy to address their plight. A situational analysis was conducted which resulted in a report being drawn up. This revealed that Portsmouth had a very rich history and maritime heritage that could make it one of the best tourist destinations in Britain.

Ladies and gentlemen, imagine what happened. The situation around Portsmouth was completely reversed. What initially looked like weaknesses and threats to this town, was completely converted into strengths.

You must take note of the fact that the success of this town to transform itself was not automatic. There was a lot of hard work involved. The involvement and commitment of the community, the business sector and the local authority played a tremendous role towards this success. A decision was taken to invest significant amounts of capital in the necessary maritime tourism infrastructure.

Shipwrecks were salvaged and those with a historical background, such as the first iron steamship was converted into museums. There were also priceless shipwrecks that dated a few centuries ago. These also were restored and became handy as permanent exhibitions.

All in all, ladies and gentlemen, commitment and dedication do pay.

I wish to congratulate the Tourism Forum for being specifically geared to act as a platform whereby the different role players in the tourism sector and the Port may collaborate together on projects of mutual benefit. In my mind, this lays a special foundation towards success.

The Forum should heed the concept of "Responsible Tourism" as spelt out in Tourism White Paper.

In brief Mr Chairperson, there are no hard and fast rules about the way to go. The important recipe is to count your blessings and capitalise on your misfortunes.

Thank you.

<EOD>