SUN CITY, South Africa, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's tourism has rebounded because of the collaboration between government and private sectors, said the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA).

The TBCSA chairperson, Blacky Komani made the remarks at Sun City, in the North West Province while speaking at the Leadership Conference. The conference started on Sept. 14 and ended on Friday. He said the partnership between government and private sector during COVID-19 should be cemented to grow the sector and surpass the set targets.

"Our current performance as a sector is now at about 85 percent of 2019. Understanding that some of our key source markets have been slow to recover -- domestic travel is still strong. Our quick recovery is assisted by the passion that our industry is known for," says Komani.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlalela, said that the government and private sectors have to work together to address the challenges the industry faces. The country has to improve on infrastructure and address crime to help tourism to grow.

Mahlalela said that "we must not fear each other, we must not see each other with suspicion. For this sector to expand, there has to be a working partnership between the private and public sectors, and all spheres of government to create an enabling environment for exponential growth. For us to continue to be an anchor for employment and economic growth, we have to work together and this conference is indeed about driving this very sentiment and spirit."

He pointed out that the government would soon start consultations on the 1996 Tourism White Paper and solicit inputs on how to grow the sector.

The Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said that the government is committed to creating some conducive environment for tourism to thrive. He called for the private sector to work with the government to grow the tourism sector.

In the past two days, government and tourism role players discussed how to make tourism grow and how to strengthen public-private partnerships. The TBCSA CEO, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, said the tourism sector has revised the 2030 arrivals target to lower, from 20 million to 15.6 million. Enditem

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