25 July 2008

IN preparation for the thousands of international tourists heading to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Ekurhuleni Municipality is hosting a series of tourism workshops to assist emerging entrepreneurs.

According to the municipality the end of July marks the beginning of big things for entrepreneurs in Ekurhuleni as they get ready to host a series of workshops aimed at strengthening the tourism sector.

The Tourism Enterprise Programme (TEP) toolkit workshops will run over a period of four months, with the first taking place on 29 July at the Lapeng Village in Daveyton.

The series will begin with a module on the legalities and compliance of getting a business off the ground, and end off with how to successfully market that business.

"The toolkit is to empower entrepreneurs to overcome the constraints that they face in starting and running successful businesses, and realise their full potential while also addressing the issue of job creation.

"This will assist in building capacity, quality and international competitive tourism enterprises in Ekurhuleni, especially in the light of the much-awaited 2010 soccer spectacle that is set to see thousands of tourists coming to our shores," said spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.

Ekurhuleni municipality tourism office and the Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP), a public-private partnership which facilitates the growth and development of small, micro, and medium-seized enterprises in the tourism economy, have entered into a joint venture to bring these workshops free of charge to local communities.

BuaNews recently toured the municipality's infrastructure preparations ahead of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and world cup preparations.

While none of the world cup matches will be played in Ekurhuleni, there are four practice stadiums namely Sinaba, Vosloosrus, Makhulong, and Katlehong stadiums which are expected to be used as practice venues.

The residents of Ekurhuleni will be exposed to an array of economic opportunities during the Confederations Cup and the world cup, said Ekurhuleni Municipality Project Implementation Specialist, Simphiwe Morajane.

Speaking to BuaNews, Morajane highlighted that major upgrades were taking place within the municipality, such as OR Tambo International increasing its capacity, road infrastructure being improved, and the greening of the area underway.

"We are also still negotiating with IT [information technology] experts on the installation of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth within the municipality.

"Instead of seeing a welcome sign when you enter the municipality, we would like you to receive an SMS welcoming you and listing a number of services available to you," said Morajane.

In terms of existing tourism gems in Ekurhuleni, the Kidetselana Cultural Village houses the nine African tribes of South Africa giving visitors an authentic feel for the different cultures of the country.

Morajane said the cultural village was perfect for school tours and visiting tourists.

The tourism workshops, which are held free of charge, will be divided into four sections which include legalities and compliance; communication in tourism; quality assurance and customer care in tourism; and marketing in tourism.

Source: Buanews