South Africa’s Tourism and Infrastructure Ministers Forge Strategic Pact to Unlock Investment

In a decisive move to accelerate economic growth and job creation, South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, and the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, have formalised a three-year strategic partnership through a Memorandum of Agreement. This agreement marks a critical shift from planning to execution, aiming to transform the country’s tourism potential into bankable projects that attract substantial private sector investment.

Under the terms of this agreement, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s (DPWI) Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) will provide the Department of Tourism with essential specialist resources. These include investment expertise and transaction advisory services designed to strengthen the project pipeline and ensure that tourism initiatives are ready for investment.

“Tourism Policy is Economic Policy. If we want tourism to make an even greater contribution to economic growth and job creation, we must build the infrastructure that makes investment and new tourism experiences possible.” — Minister Patricia de Lille

From Plans to “Shovels in the Ground”

The core objective of this collaboration is to facilitate the transfer of skills, knowledge, and technical competencies. This will strengthen the Department of Tourism’s long-term capacity to prepare and facilitate tourism infrastructure investment. Minister de Lille emphasized that the government must turn “tourism potential into bankable projects, investment and ultimately jobs.”

Minister Macpherson echoed this sentiment, highlighting the government’s broader vision:

“Through this partnership, we can help move priority tourism infrastructure projects from plans on paper to shovels in the ground, while crowding in private sector investment and creating new economic opportunities across the country. This is another practical step towards our goal of turning South Africa into a construction site…”

This partnership aligns closely with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent launch of Phase Three of the Government-Business Partnership, where tourism was identified as a key sector capable of accelerating inclusive economic growth.

The Mechanics of the Partnership

While the Department of Tourism retains overall accountability and ownership of its Investment Facilitation Service, ISA will step in to provide the heavy lifting regarding technical and transaction support. ISA, a programme established within the DPWI, is tasked with providing services for infrastructure planning, management, and delivery.

The synergy between the two ministries is designed to:

• De-risk projects: By applying specialist transaction advisory services, making projects more attractive to private investors.
• Build capacity: Ensuring the Department of Tourism has the internal expertise to manage complex infrastructure deals long after the agreement ends.
• Accelerate delivery: Moving projects from the conceptual phase to physical construction faster.

A Catalyst for the Tourism Infrastructure Summit

The timing of this announcement is particularly significant. It serves as a precursor to the second Tourism Infrastructure Investment Summit, scheduled to take place in Gauteng on 30 September 2026 and 1 October 2026.

Following the success of the inaugural event in 2025, which established a dedicated platform to connect tourism infrastructure projects with potential investors and financiers, the second summit aims to continue building a pipeline of credible, bankable projects from both the public and private sectors.

With this new agreement in place, the stage is set for a surge in tourism infrastructure development, promising to reshape the landscape of South Africa’s tourism economy for years to come.