The tourism sector in South Africa is empowering personnel with a Chinese training project to better meet the needs of the Chinese market, said an official with the Department of Tourism after the World Tourism Organization announced the addition of Chinese (Mandarin) as an official language as of Jan. 25, 2021.

Blessing Manale, Spokesperson for the Department of Tourism South Africa. (From Official website of South African Tourism Department)

Blessing Manale, spokesperson for the Department of Tourism South Africa, told People’s Daily Online South Africa that “Mandarin is already a language in the multilateral system and its inclusion works well for global cooperation, tourism and trade.”

Manale said the Department of Tourism already has a project for the training of Mandarin (Chinese). The main objective of the training is to capacitate existing tourist guides speaking the Mandarin to enhance visitor experiences and to better serve the needs of the Chinese market.

According to South Africa Tourism, the number of Chinese tourists to South Africa continued to grow from April to September 2018, seeing an increase of 8.6 percent year on year. From January to June 2018, consumption by Chinese tourists in South Africa increased by 187 percent. In 2019, the number of Chinese tourists to South Africa increased by nearly 30 percent from the previous year. China is also among the top 10 source countries of tourists to South Africa.

Dominic Naidoo is a private tour guide and owner of Travel Bug Tours based in Durban, South Africa. He was given the opportunity by the South African National Department of Tourism to study the Mandarin language. He explained that he is looking forward to welcome more Chinese guests to visit his beautiful country after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

“The Department of Tourism is currently finalizing the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan which will help improve the loss of revenue caused by COVID-19,” said Manale.