In celebration of Women’s Month, Tourism Minister Mamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane this week held an imbizo, near Hazyview, Mpumalanga, in support of women in the tourism industry.

She encouraged more black women to participate in the industry.

“Our mission is to bring together black women, especially in Mpumalanga, who are in the tourism business so they get to know each other and [support] each other," she said, adding that the Department of Tourism aimed to introduce these women to pilot initiatives that would "enrich them in their business ventures".

She explained that, to increase the number of women leaders in the tourism sector, the department had engaged with various stakeholders to nominate women to be trained as managers under an executive development programme.

”We have conducted a study on women in tourism and have learnt that the level of women leaders in tourism is very low, so we are trying to increase those numbers. Generally, many women are in administrative positions within the sector; most black women shy away from taking up tourism businesses as they feel they won’t succeed.

“We already have 80 women who are currently in training with the University of South Africa to be managers and we only took women who are already in the tourism sector to equip them with the skills they need to become successful managers. The President said 21-million jobs should be created by 2030 and we are ready to contribute more women to that number by then,” Kubayi-Ngubane said.

She encouraged women who own lodges and bed and breakfasts to pitch their ideas to the department.

“When we go overseas, we take small business owners with so that they get to tell people abroad about their businesses. This time, we are calling out to women in rural communities to work with the department for the benefit of their children,” the Minister stated.

Kubayi-Ngubane also mentioned that the department was planning to launch a chefs progamme to help empower the youth of Mpumalanga.

“We want young people to take up training under the chefs programme, as there are endless opportunities in hospitality as it falls nicely under the tourism industry. Learning to cook is an essential life tool; one needs to know how to cook properly and if the youth become masters, they can start their own take-out businesses and restaurants,” the Minister noted.

She stated that the department remained committed to empowering small, medium-sized and microenterprises through pilot initiatives such as the incentivised incubation programme.

“Creating an inclusive tourism economy is crucial to the sustainability of our sector and we are ready to support business models that will transform and diversify this sector. As government, we are willing to work with the community to solve the challenges in tourism as we commit to creating a conducive environment for the business of tourism,” she added.

Kubayi-Ngubane emphasised that ongoing protests by communities in Mpumalanga threatened the tourism economy.

“The tourism industry suffers immensely every time there is community protest. Service delivery protests do not solve problems, but create problems," she said, pointing out that tourists became reluctant to visit areas where there were perceived threats of violence.