The National Tourism Sector Strategy sets the priorities government funds and measures in tourism through to 2026, which makes it the single most useful document for a small tourism operator deciding where to position. Its five pillars are effective marketing, ease of access, visitor experience, destination management and broad-based benefits, and each one points to a different commercial opportunity.
The strategy replaced the 2011 version and was aligned to the National Development Plan and the Tourism Act of 2014. Its headline targets are to lift tourism’s direct contribution to GDP substantially over the decade and to grow the jobs the sector directly supports towards one million.
Why a government strategy is a commercial signal
Strategies of this kind determine which programmes get budget, which partnerships departments will enter, and what provincial and municipal tourism authorities are measured on. An operator whose offer sits inside a funded priority finds it easier to get listed, promoted and supported. One whose offer sits outside it is working against the current. The full document and the programmes attached to it are published through the South African government services portal.
Ease of access is the pillar that moves volume
Visa processes, air connectivity and transport links decide how many visitors arrive at all. A small operator cannot influence these, but can position for them: when a new route or a relaxed visa arrangement opens a source market, the businesses that already have pricing, language and booking channels ready for that market capture the first wave.
Visitor experience is where a small operator actually competes
This is the pillar least dependent on scale. Guides, guesthouses, tour operators and township tourism businesses compete on the quality and distinctiveness of the experience rather than on marketing budget. Consistent delivery, reviews and repeat referral do more for a small operator than any campaign, and the marketing pillar exists partly to carry those operators into markets they cannot reach alone.
Broad-based benefits is where funding and market access sit
The transformation pillar is the one that attaches to enterprise development funding, supplier programmes and inclusion in official channels. For a small, black-owned or community-based tourism business, this is the pillar that translates most directly into rands, through preferential procurement by larger operators and through access to the destination marketing run by South African Tourism.
What to do with the strategy in practice
Read which pillar your business serves, then align your language to it when applying for grading, funding or inclusion in a provincial campaign. Applications that use the sector’s own framing are assessed faster and more favourably than applications that do not, because the assessor is scoring against those pillars.
Frequently asked questions
What is the National Tourism Sector Strategy?
It is South Africa’s ten-year sector strategy for tourism covering 2016 to 2026, setting targets for the sector’s contribution to GDP and employment and the priorities government will fund and measure.
What are its five pillars?
Effective marketing, facilitating ease of access, visitor experience, destination management, and broad-based benefits.
Why should a small tourism business care about it?
Because it determines which programmes receive budget and what provincial and municipal tourism bodies are measured on, so a business aligned to a funded priority finds support and market access far easier to obtain.
Which pillar is most relevant to a small operator?
Visitor experience, because it depends on delivery quality rather than scale, and broad-based benefits, because that is where enterprise development funding and supplier access sit.
Where can the strategy be found?
It is published by the national tourism department, along with the programmes and implementation structures attached to it.
Further reading
Originally published in December 2017. Updated September 2026 to explain what each pillar of the strategy means commercially for a small tourism operator.
