By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Board of South African Tourism announced Nombulelo Guliwe CA (SA) as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of South African Tourism on a five-year contract.
Guliwe, 37, is a qualified Chartered Accountant and member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
She became the first black female and youngest SA Tourism Chief Financial Officer in 2019.
Guliwe, is currently the Acting CEO and Interim Chief Financial Officer and brings a wealth of knowledge having served in various leadership roles throughout her career including Chief Financial Officer at SA Tourism since August 2019. Prior to this, she had been with SA Tourism for 8 years.
SAT has had acting executives and a temporary board for the past year following the Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship debacle and other leadership woes that hit the organisation.
SA Tourism’s new board:
- Makhosazana Khanyile (chair)
- Advocate Lizelle Dominique Jordaan (deputy chair)
- Dr Gregory Davids
- Ikaneng (Oupa) Ephraim Pilane
- Prof Motlhago Stella Bvuma
- Nqabomzi Haya
- Rajesh Mahabeer
- Ayanda Mazibuko
- Maija de Rijk-Uys
- Dr Mzolisi Michael Toni, and
- Uveshnee Pillay (as the Department of Tourism representative).
SA Tourism is a public entity under the Department of Tourism, established in terms of the Tourism Act of 2014. The mandate of SA Tourism as the official marketing agency, is to market South Africa as a domestic and international tourist destination.
SATSA, the Voice of Inbound Tourism, welcomes the appointment of the new South African Tourism Board and CEO to give impetus to the organisation in delivering on its mandate of marketing South Africa as a preferred global tourist destination.
This new leadership phase marks a pivotal moment for inbound tourism to South Africa, says SATSA CEO David Frost, who commended Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille and the former Interim SA Tourism Board chaired by Tim Harris on the appointment process, which has been collaborative and thorough.