This can be judged by the fact that when ITB kicked off in 1966, the beginnings were very humble. Exhibition space offered were a mere 580 square metres with nine exhibitors from five countries – Brazil, Egypt, Guinea-Conakry, Iraq and the Federal Republic of Germany representing the Western Sector of then divided Germany.
Today, 45 years later, those figures have reached mind-boggling heights. ITB 2011 has attracted 11,163 exhibitors from 188 countries occupying a space of 150,000 square metres. The end is not in sight. Visitors are expected to top the 100,000 mark. Tourism is on the march and this explains the annual pilgrimage to the world’s leading travel and trade show in Berlin.
The South African squad has arrived with a bloated chest. Who can blame them? The staging of the FIFA World Cup Finals in 2010 in South Africa was a great bonanza to the country and offered the continent of Africa immeasurable exposure. The much vaunted catastrophe that preceded this great event in the western media failed to materialize. On the contrary, the many thousands of visitors were completely enchanted by the friendship and hospitality that was dished out by the local population.
“South Africa also received hundreds of millions of rand worth of marketing exposure as a result of the World Cup. This kind of positive revelation cannot be bought. The success of the Finals is a credit to all South Africans who took pride in being outstanding hosts to the world”.
South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Mr Marthinus van Schalkwyk, could not hide his elation in the growth of tourism. He said: “Let me begin with a sporting term – ‘We are part of a winning team’. Our industry is growing by leaps and bounds. There might be some hiccups here and there in terms of economic recession, but we are on a winning pitch and lets us never forget it and that is how we must plan.
“In 1950 we only had 25 million arrivals. In 2009 that figure increased to 880 million. It took us 59 years to get to that point. In the next 11 years that figure is going to double. In 2020 we shall have 1.6 billion international arrivals.
A few days ago, I read some very interesting statistics. In 1950, only four percent of people travelled outside a 100km radius of where they were born. That means 96% of the world population – were born, they were raised, they worked and they passed on within that 100km circle. The world has changed and we are part of the industry that changed the world and will continue to do so”.
“Tourism” continued the Minister “is a very dynamic and revolutionary factor in bringing people together. This brings me to a very important aspect in our industry. Our major enabler in tourism is the airline business. Therefore, we must recognize that we have a partner and must ensure we work with them properly. At the same time we must understand that the airline industry is changing. The Chicago Convention that governs much of the airline industry was signed a long time ago – in 1944. So, if we look at the legal framework governing airspace and ownership of airlines, it has become outdated. We have to modernize it. It is a fact that air travel has reduced the size of the world”.
In other words the world is now a Dorf (Village), because today we talk in terms of hours and not days and weeks to reach a destination.
Minister Van Schalkwyk concluded: “We in South Africa are trying to liberalize our branch when our cabinet took a decision in 2006 that we want as many airlines as possible to fly to our country. At the moment we have around 50. This is not enough. We want more so that the international arrivals are further increased. The ITB is without doubt the most important motor in this process”.
Both these speeches were delivered at the Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award (ETEYA), a function which took place within the framework of the ITB.
According to Ms Lisa-Ann Hosking, General Manager Operational National of Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP), “ETEYA was born about a decade ago to assist emerging tourism businesses move from the second economy into the mainstream. South African Tourism offers an annual award for tourism entrepreneurs that show potential”.
Ms Hosking continued: “Each of the nine provinces has a shortlist of five candidates and hosting them at a training workshop to develop presentation skills and business planning. They are then given a month to apply these skills to formulating their own business plans for submission to a panel of judges. Sites are then visited and the candidates are narrowed down to 9 finalists. These are given R10 000 (1 Euro = ca R9) in cash and participate in a 12-month mentorship programme run by TEP and are invited to attend the ITB in Berlin. It is a way in which to encourage mainly young people into the tourist industry”.
The final winners are announced at South Africa Tourist Fair – INDABA – which is held each year in the City of Durban in the month of May. The winner receives R100, 000; followed by R75, 000: R50, 000; & R25, 000 for the three runners-up respectively.