Johannesburg – South African Tourism (SA Tourism) has moved to quash any suggestions that it will be paying acclaimed media personality and comedian Trevor Noah to promote the country.
SA Tourism had its fingers burnt not so long ago over its controversial attempt to sponsor English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for nearly a billion rand.
The deal was eventually scuppered after a public outcry.
Some reports earlier today suggested that Trevor Noah was in line for a cash windfall of more than R30 million for a five-minute advert promoting South Africa.
However, Tourism Minister Patricia De Lille said the Trevor Noah advert for SA “does not involve public funds”.
SA Tourism said Friday that it “would like to clarify that we are aware of the engagements between the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) and internationally acclaimed media personality and comedian Trevor Noah, to promote our country, however, SA Tourism will not be contributing financially towards this initiative”.
SA Tourism (SA Tourism) said it consistently engages with the greater tourism industry on various aspects of destination marketing, such as overall marketing strategies, market insights, and the latest traveller trends.
“This particular initiative is spearheaded by the private tourism sector through TBCSA,” said SA Tourism.
The TBCSA said it has been in talks with Trevor Noah and other personalities, “to collaborate with us on campaigns that will create a wider presence for destination South Africa to international markets”.
Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa from TBCSA added: “This is in line with the sector’s ambition to grow tourism arrivals in the country to 15.6 million over the next decade.
“If and when the parties ultimately agree on a common strategy, the deal will be wholly funded by TBCSA.”
Trevor Noah confirmed Minister De Lille’s stance, saying he has not been approached by SA Tourism.
