Speaking at the recent inaugural National Tourism Career Expo in Durban, Tourism Business Council of South Africa CEO Mmatšatši Marobe said that for far too long the tourism industry has taken the back seat while many other industries are busy recording substantial growth, attracting fresh talents on a continuous basis. According to Marobe, this is partly due to many factors, largely revolving around the perception of tourism as a soft career option. “However, we view this mentality as quite frightening, considering that tourism is highly regarded by many countries all over the world to be the driver of economic growth, entrepreneurship and job creation. The same phenomenon has taken effect in our very own country, with tourism regarded as one of the priority sector within government,” she stressed. The National Tourism Career Expo extends to University of Pretoria on Monday, 20 October 2008, followed by University of Johannesburg on Wednesday 22 October and Cape Peninsula University of Technology on Thursday 23 October.
