The Ministry of Tourism and Airbnb have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the continued recovery of the tourism sector and build inclusive tourism in South Africa.
The agreement will see the Department of Tourism work closely with Airbnb to advance tourism services that are aimed at growing tourism in South Africa and creating more jobs in the sector.
In terms of the MoU, Airbnb will collaborate with the Ministry of Tourism through:
A national registration system for Short Term Rentals
* A national database, as per section 6 of the Tourism Act 2014, will be established for short term rentals in South Africa to provide transparency into the short-term rental market.
* The sharing of information on international best practice regarding Short Term Rentals, the registration system thereof, and the policy regulations worldwide by Airbnb will help the Department of Tourism to develop a position on short term rentals, based not only on Airbnb input, but input across the industry, to ensure fairness and transparency.
The Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy (Skills Development):
* Airbnb and the Ministry of Tourism will collaborate on the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy, a skills development programme focused on spreading the benefits of tourism to historically disadvantaged individuals by lowering barriers to entry and providing economic empowerment.
Tourism Insights through the City Portal:
* Access to an exclusive portal built for governments and tourism organizations that provides locally specific data and mutual sharing of knowledge and insights.
Collaboration at the Airbnb Africa Travel Summit.
* The Summit aims to bring together influencers, innovators and changemakers to discuss how to utilise technology to drive a more inclusive and sustainable travel future in Africa. The Summit will enable a combination of critical conversations, real solutions and firm commitments; and the Minister will present the official welcome note. It will take place in Johannesburg on 23/24th October 2023.
“This MoU seeks to grow the collaboration between government and the private sector as it is our collective responsibility to grow and enhance the tourism sector. As government, if we want to significantly grow tourism and its contribution to the economy and job creation, collaboration with the private sector is vital. We are delighted to be the first African Ministry of Tourism to sign a collaborative MoU with a successful global company such as Airbnb,” says Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille.
“By leveraging Airbnb’s global reach and understanding of the market, this collaboration seeks to create a positive impact on local communities, travellers, and the tourism industry as a whole.
“The primary goal of this collaboration is to develop a relationship between the Ministry, its department and entity, and Airbnb, to harness and drive tourism domestically and internationally,” she adds.
“As shared in the Department’s Green paper, insufficient information is available about the unregulated Short Term Rental subsector, and this hampers informed policy decision making. Access to the Airbnb data can only assist in informing better decisions.”
As part of the MoU, the parties will have regular engagements to evaluate opportunities for strategic collaboration on driving inclusive tourism and ensuring fair and proportionate regulation of short-term rentals.
Velma Corcoran, regional lead Middle East Africa at Airbnb, says: “We look forward to working together with the Department of Tourism to help build a more inclusive and sustainable tourism economy in South Africa. The Airbnb platform can help anyone, anywhere, to become a tourism entrepreneur, and we hope to continue to break down systemic barriers to entry and enable more South Africans to participate in the sector.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with the Department to develop a clear proportionate national framework for the regulation of short term rentals is crucial and see huge power in public and private sector partnerships. We also know from our work with the Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy, that together, we can make a tangible difference and enable more people, in more places, to benefit from tourism.”
The signing of this MoU is in line with the aims of the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan which is a key part of the country’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.
The Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (TSRP) was adopted by Cabinet in March 2021 to facilitate the recovery of the sector to preserve jobs and livelihoods, facilitate new job opportunities, match demand and supply, and strengthen transformation.
The TSRP has three strategic themes namely: re-igniting demand, rejuvenating supply and strengthening enabling capability.