Mininster of Tourism Patricia de Lille has urged international investors to look into South Africa as a potential destination for global meetings, conferences and entertainment events, and thus replicate the Club Med model across the country.
Club Med SAS, commonly known as Club Med and previously known as Club Méditerranée SA, is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, specializing in all-inclusive holidays.
The multinational hospitality group is opening a R2.5 billion beach and safari resort in KwaZulu-Natal in July, the most expensive destination-scale tourism venture in the country’s history and reinforcing economic prospects in critical logistics infrastructure in the province.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting on Wednesday, De Lille said South Africa’s presence at Davos was driven by a deliberate decision to reposition tourism as a core economic growth engine rather than a peripheral industry.
“We came to Davos with a clear message that tourism is not a side issue,” De Lille said. “It is undervalued and underrated, yet it is part of the inclusion of economic growth solution.”
Over the past decade, South Africa’s economic growth has remained stubbornly low, averaging around 1.5% and at times falling below 1%.
De Lille said that under the Government of National Unity, tourism has now been identified as one of five priority sectors, alongside electricity, transport and mining, capable of lifting growth to at least 3.5% over the next three years.
At the heart of South Africa’s pitch to investors is the Club Med resort, which De Lille said was being showcased at Davos as a proof-of-concept that global tourism brands can invest in South Africa at scale and with confidence.
“We were able to show the investors here at Davos the confidence in South Africa’s economy to invest in South Africa by giving them an example of the Club Med resort that’s opening now in KZN,” she said.
De lille said the government is now actively encouraging international tourism operators to pursue similar large-scale, destination-based developments across the country.
She said investors at Davos were presented with a growing tourism infrastructure investment pipeline aimed at diversifying South Africa’s tourism offering beyond traditional attractions.
“And we are showing them many more opportunities for investment [such as] the God’s Window in Mpumalanga. There are projects in the Eastern Cape, in the Western Cape, all over our country,” De Lille said.
“We come here with our own tourism infrastructure investment pipeline because we have to diversify our tourism offering.”
Tourism already contributes 8.8% to South Africa’s gross domestic product and supported about 1.8 million jobs last year. Despite this, the sector’s impact is often underestimated.
South Africa’s push at Davos is also being bolstered by its growing reputation as a host of global business events.
The successful hosting of G20 meetings has demonstrated the country’s capacity to manage large-scale international gatherings, an area that falls under the MICE sector (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), which is part of tourism.
De Lille said through the South African National Convention Bureau, the country actively bids for international conferences and events. Last year, South Africa submitted around 65 bids and secured more than half, with those events set to take place across the country over the next year.
“The G20 has shown that we are capable as South Africa to host business events. Now, business events under the MICE sector sits under tourism.
“We are showcasing to show to the World Economic Forum the kind of events that we can host. And we need to grow that sector more. South Africa is leading in terms of business events in the continent, but we should not rest on our laurels. We should always look for more opportunities here.”
Meanwhile, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, on Tuesday announced that South Africa has been selected to host a special World Economic Forum (WEF) Spring Summit in April 2027.
Lamola said the summit would be a critical platform to address ongoing geopolitical and socio-economic issues affecting Africa and the global economy.
“South Africa will host the special WEF Spring Summit in April 2027. The summit will bring together global and African business leaders and public figures to engage on critical thematic priorities, advance public-private partnerships and accelerate Africa’s strategic developmental agenda,” said Lamola.
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