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INDABA
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The INDABA, the African continent's premier travel fair, showcases every year the exquisite diversity of this country and its tourism products. In 2005, the focus was on sustainability and eco-tourism.
Sustainability means protection of the environment and its natural beauty and creation of work for the people. Since 1994, the government has designated four new national parks, bringing the total to 20. South Africa has also added substantially more land to existing parks. Almost 20 percent of the country's coastal zone now falls under nature protection.
Ecotourism, comprising nature photography, bird-watching, botanical studies, snorkeling, hiking and mountaineering, is the fastest-growing sector of South African tourism. Besides its spectacular nature, South Africa also has a lot to offer to culturally interested travellers. The well-know Stone Age rock paintings and engravings all over the country, Zulu villages, Ndebele art, but also the new Mapungubwe National Park, a World Heritage Site demonstrating the grandeur of an indigenous high culture of Southern African people. Township tours offer an insight in the modern way of life of many urban Africans, their warmth and livelyness as well as the problems of poverty.
Poverty is best addressed by job creation. At last year's Indaba in Durban, the Scorecard was introduced as a tool to better the employment situation for black South Africans in the private sector of the tourism industry.
As the Department for Environment and Tourism puts it: "We recognize that our industry remains characterized by large disparities in access to opportunities and benefits, and in particular to opportunities in benefits for black people. We also recognize that our sector is largely white-owned and we are aware of the residual impact of this legacy of inequality and its continuing impact on efforts to ensure that a tourism and tourist-friendly culture takes root in our country."
 Any kind of private tourism business, big or small, can score percentage points by sharing ownership and/or management with partners of colour. The most highly credited empowerment effort, however, lies in the field of skills' development. So far, often young white people with relevant certificates were chosen over black personell which had gathered experience over many years of service, but couldn't show the right credentials in terms of formal training. Now a business can score highly with providing training to their black staff members.
We are looking forward to an equally productive INDABA 2006 in Durban which will take place in May (6 - 9 May 2006) and will keep our readers updated.
C.H.
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