By: Nosipho Haya-Komisa
The natural beauty of Hogsback is one of the holiday destinations in the province that attracts tourists and investors in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape.
To encourage tourists to visit the province’s destination, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane together with Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism MEC, Mlungisi Mvoko launched the 2020 Tourism month in Hogsback yesterday.
The provincial Tourism sector got an opportunity to showcase its vast natural beauty, forming part of the authentic experience for tourists.
Addressing the media, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane said the provincial government is going to use the 2020 tourism month to boost its economy.
“As this month of September is dedicated to promoting tourism in our national calendar, for us tourism is a niche sector that we intended to use as a launchpad for our economic recovery,” said Mabuyane.
Mabuyane has encouraged the residents to work hand in glove with the provincial government in ensuring that the province attracts more investors to inject a major boost in its economy.
“For tourism to benefit our province, and inject growth to our economy, we have to work together as the people of the province in positioning the Eastern Cape, ensuring that our visitors get the best experience so that we can attract more business, sporting events and people for leisure travel,” said Mabuyane.
Mabuyane revealed that the province has plans to recover its economic growth between the 2020 and 2025 period.
“Today, we want to announce that the Executive Council has approved the provincial tourism strategy for the period of 2020-2025 that we will implement to contribute towards the attainment of the 5% economic growth we want to reach by 2030,” said Mabuyane.
Now that domestic travelling is allowed for people to travel locally, Oscar Mabuyane has urged people to boost the local economy.
“We encourage our people to book their trips now before tourism establishments are fully booked for the festive season. Surely there is going to be a huge rush for families to travel after people spent more than 5 months locked in their homes during the national lockdown,” said Mabuyane.