THE "urgent" establishment of Tourism Safety Task Teams in the Free State following the murder of a Polish tourist and the subsequent gang rape of his wife in late May, has been shelved "for now" as the Free State Tourism Board (FSTB) is readying itself for its July 22 launch of the Welcome campaign.
FSTB communications officer, Riathile Ralepedi, told Travel Now that while the establishment of the Task Teams was still a priority, the board had decided to focus on workshopping the tourism officers in the province gearing-up for the Welcome Campaign.
"We want to ensure that the Task Teams work according to the principles of the Welcome Campaign and therefore need to first orientate ourselves as to what they are. Once we've launched the campaign in all eight major centres, we will focus on seriously addressing the issue of crime."
He says other issues, such as lack of funding, had also hampered progress.
"We are avidly working at establishing communication channels between the relevant stakeholders, that is, the provincial government, Free State Tourism Business Council, the various community tourism forums and the local tourism associations."
What has been done though, is the establishment of a newsletter - distributed to the tourism industry in the Free State - inviting interested parties to offer solutions to combating crime in their area and to share information on what is being done, says Ralepedi.
The official launch of the Welcome Campaign will be held at Sun International's Thaba Nchu Sun Casino Resort near Bloemfontein, attended by the provincial MEC for Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Benny Kotsoane and FSTB chief executive officer, Thabo Manyoni.
August and September will see the Welcome Campaign being launched and implemented in the following areas: Sasolburg, Kroonstad (Northern Free State), Welkom, Ventersburg (Goldfields region), Bloemfontein and Gariepdam (Transgariep) and Harrismith and Bethlehem (Eastern Free State).
A major clean-up campaign by local schools will accompany the Welcome Campaign and a competition launched for the cleanest town in the Free State.
Lesotho, bordering the Eastern Free State, is also being challenged to clean its side of the border.
(Adéle Mackenzie)
