By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, officially launched the Tourism Month 2025 at Sakhumzi Restaurant at Zoo Lake in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
This year’s celebrations have been earmarked to honour and celebrate South Africa’s rich culture, heritage, and travel experiences, ahead of the tourism month, which kicks off officially in September.
Tourism Month encourages South Africans to travel domestically to sustain jobs and support the recovery of tourism in line with the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan.
De Lille said inclusion of young people was vital to its sustainable success and that her Department would focus on empowering young people to become key players in the tourism industry.
She emphasised that tourism is a powerful driver of economic growth and job creation. She encouraged South Africans to explore their own country through affordable travel options and highlighted the importance of making destinations accessible, especially for young people.
“The tourism sector has the potential to create jobs for young people, which is why we must work together. Last year, the tourism industry reported 1.8 million jobs, and has the potential to deliver even more jobs if we focus on long-term solutions and we have our own transformation fund where we have committed millions to black and women-led enterprises,” the minister said.
The minister’s address comes just a day after the Statistician General, Risenga Maluleke, announced South Africa’s second quarter 2025 jobs data which revealed that 60% of industries in the country bled jobs in the second quarter of the year.
This has triggered strong criticism from political parties and organised labour, with calls for urgent economic reforms, job creation programmes, and government accountability.
The Minister also shared positive visitor numbers, noting that this year alone, more than one million international tourists visited South Africa, a sign of the sector’s robust recovery and global appeal.
She outlined a number of government-led programmes aimed at sustaining this growth. These initiatives are designed to foster innovative and responsible tourism practices, with strong emphasis on getting young people on board to drive the sector forward.
Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, the CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, indicated that as South Africa observes its 45th tourism month occasion, it is important to reflect on the sustainable transformation of the industry and what it represents to the people of South Africa, and those who spend their money traveling within and into South Africa.
“This is the 45th time we celebrate tourism. There have been 45 themes celebrated over the past 45 years. This year’s theme is significant as it reflects the need to achieve sustainable transformation.”