Following the circulating of a video on social media showing a group of black teenagers being attacked by white adults at a swimming pool at Maselspoort Resort in Free State on Christmas Day, various South African tourism industry bodies have united in their position on the matter.
South African Tourism, Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA) and Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) have all strongly condemned the incident.
According to a statement released by South African Tourism, tourism is about authenticity, sustainability and inclusivity therefore racism is an antithesis to this.
“Domestic tourism is an important part of our sector and racial profiling and discrimination whether by an establishment owner or a patron is simply not acceptable.
“All South Africans regardless of race or creed have the right to enjoy the length and breadth of our country and all the establishments and amenities in between,” said SA Tourism.
The leader in the tourism sector called on all tourism businesses and product owners to take decisive action against such incidents by reporting them and emailing [email protected].
SA Tourism also revealed that Maselspoort Resort & Conference Centre is currently not graded by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa.
TBCSA CEO, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, said that the tourism sector is an inclusive industry and therefore there should be no room for prejudice or discrimination based on creed, race or religion.
“Racism has no room in tourism, we will not tolerate nor accommodate any racist behaviour in our country. As South Africans, we know how ugly racism is and we cannot be dragged back,” said Tshivhengwa.
Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) is appalled by the reported racist actions of some guests at Maselspoort Resort outside Bloemfontein on Christmas Day. pic.twitter.com/d2v9FXPxfe
— TBCSA (@TBCZA) December 26, 2022
SATSA, the voice of inbound tourism, also added its voice to the matter and echoed the TBCSA’s sentiments.
“This kind of incident undermines the efforts of South Africans who are working daily to promote cultural diversity, sensitisation and reconciliation. We cannot allow this kind of abhorrent behaviour to go unpunished and trust that the police will expedite their investigations to ascertain the full facts and prosecute accordingly,” said SATSA co-chair Oupa Pilane.