Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has launched the Summer Campaign to encourage South Africans and visitors from across the globe to travel more, see hidden gems and explore all parts of South Africa.

‘This time of year, we see a notable increase in visitors to the South African tourism sector, encompassing local, regional and international travelers.

‘The summer season is one of the key travel periods in our calendar, making it essential to capitalise on the tradition of individuals traveling throughout the country,’ De Lille said at the launch of the campaign in the Free State on Tuesday.

The Minister said South Africa is a well-known travel destination, although tourists mostly only visit some provinces. The key mission now is to ensure that tourists are made aware of all the tourism offerings and variety in all the nine provinces.

De Lille said many people return to their hometowns to reunite with family during the holiday season.

‘We are proud to continue the Gimme Summer – Sho’t Left Campaign. A
fter all, it is our country, and we must enjoy and explore it. This is also an opportunity for South Africa to showcase how welcoming and inclusive we are to our regional and international tourists.

‘South Africans are struggling with the high cost of living and to address affordability concerns for domestic travelers, we have engaged the tourism sector to provide special offers to South Africans.

‘We encourage more companies to load offers on the Sho’t Left website so that South Africans who are struggling with the high cost of living can also, after a hard year, enjoy our tourism offerings,’ the Minister said.

De Lille said the Summer Season for 2023 saw over 10 million domestic trips, with a spend of over R38 billion for these trips.

‘Provinces have started finalising their summer campaigns and to support them in their summer campaign efforts, we will promote cross provincial travel. South African Tourism will support and collaborate with the provinces to ensure consistent messaging from the tourism se
ctor throughout the summer season.

‘Our primary goal for the next five years is to achieve 15 million tourism arrivals to our country by 2030, as per the National Development Plan,’ De Lille said.

The launch of the Summer Campaign is in line with the Department of Tourism’s mission to promote hidden gems and tourist attractions in lesser visited provinces to ensure that the benefits of tourism are realised in all nine provinces.

Source: South African Government News Agency