The Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille
The Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, officially launched the Tourism Month 2025 at Sakhumzi Restaurant at Zoo Lake in Johannesburg today, August 13.
During the event, she highlighted the critical role of tourism in economic development and social transformation. Tourism Month starts on September 1.
During her address, Minister de Lille emphasized the theme of “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation,” calling for a more inclusive and innovative approach to growing the sector.
She said inclusion of youth was vital to its sustainable success and that her Department would focus on empowering young people to become key players in the tourism industry.
- 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 also 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.
