The South African Tourism board indicated today (Thursday, March 30) that it would not proceed with the controversial R1 billion (€51m) proposal to sponsor soccer team, Tottenham Hotspur –  as part of an ambitious plan to convert Premier Soccer League (PSL) game audience members into visitors to South Africa.

This announcement follows the Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille’s, update to the media last week in which she declared the proposal to be “unlawful and invalid”, and had strongly advised the marketing agency’s board to scrap the deal. 

She gave the SA Tourism board until Wednesday (March 29) to respond.

“In a letter from the SA Tourism Board Chairperson (Thozamile Botha), based on the advice I have given to the board and which I had publicly stated, the SA Tourism board has agreed not to proceed with the proposal,” said De Lille in a statement.

She added: “The SA Tourism board will no longer proceed with the transaction, nor will it seek the concomitant requisite approvals for the proposed transaction.”

De Lille reiterated her earlier statements that, in the current economic climate, the use of public funds must be carefully considered and, for any department to fulfil its mandate, it must be done in a cost-effective way, exploring multiple options and with due consideration for all priorities.

“Our justification for any significant spending must still make sense in terms of the broader economic climate we find ourselves in as a country.”

De Lille said: “In this regard, I look forward to continuing to engage SA Tourism’s board and executive management, as I have done in my first two weeks in office, and working with them and the Department of Tourism on strategic actions we can take to enhance South Africa’s position globally as a top tourist destination.”

Continue to engage SA Tourism

She said she would also continue engaging SA Tourism and the department in more detail on the Department of Tourism’s budget to ensure the mandate of growing visitor numbers to South Africa was fulfilled, providing the necessary support to enable growth, increase job creation and increase the sector’s contribution to the economy.

“It is my hope that all proposals going forward will be discussed at the earliest time to ensure that myself and the department, together with our main entity SA Tourism, work together from the onset and seek advice and support from one another while following all due processes and legislative requirements.”

De Lille noted: “This matter is now concluded and we will continue working together to explore all avenues, create the environment conducive for the private sector to invest and crowd in on government initiatives within the legislative framework to grow tourism, welcome more visitors to our beautiful country and create more jobs for people in this sector.”

Industry concerns

The private sector largely did not support this proposed deal, with SATSA CEO, David Frost expressing concern over the real return on investment over this deal when it was first announced.

He said: “To achieve the real tourism growth South Africa needs, we must grow our arrivals from India and China, among other markets. And when you look at countries like Malta and Rwanda which have pursued this tactic previously, awareness-raising has not necessarily resulted in an increase in leisure tourist arrivals.”