Samar Yahya
SOUTH Africa’s Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom called for more Saudis to visit his country and promoted the Rainbow nation in Africa with a pitch that it is an ideal destination for Muslims, offering a variety that would suit the sentiments of Saudis.
“In South Africa, we want to talk seriously how to promote it. It is a beautiful country it enjoys climatic diversity, landscape, with Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean on the west and east sides respectively. In South Africa, we offer cultural and climate diversity and many different experiences. We have respect and acceptance to other cultures. In going to South Africa there is no difficulty to find Halal food or places of worship.” Henekom said in a recent tourism seminar.
South Africa Consul General Shoayb Casoo held the seminar to welcome minister of tourism Hanekom during his visit to Saudi Arabia. Casoo welcomed Hanekom and briefed the attendees about the program of the seminar and talked about the minister and his long years of experience in diverse fields with the South Africa government
Hanekom in his speech, where he talked about South Africa tourism, also said: “I arrived in Saudi Arabia earlier and my perception about the Kingdom has changed 180 degrees. It is a wonderful country to visit, I visited the National Museum and in fact 24 hours are too less to enjoy Saudi Arabia. However, we were lucky to visit the Annual Photography Exhibition and there we really got a sense that Saudi Arabia is a marvelous place. On that I do fault Saudis for not promoting their country the way it should be.
“I met with Prince Sultan Bin Salman. president of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH). We were overwhelmed by the warm welcome we received from his side. He is a wonderful man and has made such a big impression on us. He represents Saudi Arabia graciously and splendidly.”
“Every year about 24,000 South African Muslims come for Haj and I believe that more South Africans and people from around the world need to come and explore more the beauty of Saudi Arabia,” Henekom said.
About wildlife and Safari experiences in his nation, Henekom said: “South Africa is different from other African countries having the best wild life and safari experiences, which is totally different. But we offer that amongst other things. For instance, Cape Town is a huge attraction to Saudi tourists whom we care about, not only their numbers but that they come during the offseason where they can enjoy the a cool climate and that is very valuable to us.
“Cape Town waterfront is one of the best water fronts worldwide, you have everything you can do in a waterfront. Ten minutes from the waterfront you can take the cable car to Table Mountain one of the best places you can ever visit. Also, you can take a ferry to reach Robben Island famous for incarcerating the late South African President Nelson Mandela. In addition being in Cape Town you can visit Garden Route known for its greenery and landscape, nevertheless, Cape Town is know for having the most famous nature reserves worldwide.” Henekom continued
“In Johannesburg, the experience of ‘The Big 5’, the five well known animals; the lion, the elephant, the buffalo, the rhino and the leopard that South Africa is famous for can be viewed in a game park or through a Safari. In addition, the west coast is unbelievably beautiful during August and September where desert comes to life and goes green,” Henekom said.
On the main topics discussed with Prince Sultan Bin Salman and the delayed promotion of South African tourism, Henekom told Saudi Gazette: “Presently we will have a new concept of promotion for South Africa. And about meeting with Prince Sultan we had an agreement with Saudi government early in 2014 and the discussion was on how to take this MOU further, and Prince Sultan told us about tourism and development during the past 15 years. It was very useful sharing of information.
“One of the main points of discussion was how to cooperate in terms of nature preservation and protection of animals facing extinction since South Africa has a wide experience in the field and how to develop Saudi Arabia in the same field.
“We want to strengthen the cultural ties between the two countries. We concluded the meeting with a very strong invitation to Prince Sultan to visit South Africa in the next few months so we can take forward some of the elements of MOU but essentially to talk further on how to promote the tourism flows between our two countries.”
During the Q& A session and on a question about the safety and security in Johannesburg Henekom said, “If you look up the tourism experiences as a whole in South Africa the crime rate is very low and in popular tourism sites we succeeded in securing most of the tourist sites, but there might be incidents but mostly away from the tourist sites. Wildlife is also very safe unless tourists do not follow the safety procedures, as the incident of an American tourist who was eaten by a lioness as she opened the window of the car and tried to take a photo. On the whole the tourism experience in South Africa is not a high-risk tourism experience.”
On Malaria and Ebola, Henekom confirmed that these two diseases were away from South Africa and there was not a single case of Ebola. “Malaria risk is very low risk in South Africa with The Big 5 wonderful safari experience especially in eastern part where there is no Malaria. There is no other country in Africa that offers zero Malaria safari experiences as South Africa,” Henekom stressed.
During the seminar, a presentation on South Africa’s attractions was displayed to give attendees a broader idea about the country.
