South African Tourism (SA Tourism) has announced the appointment of Ms Nomasonto Ndlovu as the organisation’s new Chief Operations Officer. Nomasonto will officially commence her role on 1 July 2022.

Nomasonto is currently employed by Transnet in the capacity of Executive Manager: Tourism, Heritage & Hospitality, a role she has occupied since November 2020. She has gained extensive experience in Marketing Operations, Brand Management, Communications, Stakeholder Management and Media Relations. She has held various leadership positions in the tourism sector including her role as Global Manager: Business Tourism when she was previously at SA Tourism between 2008 and 2012 before joining the City of Tshwane as Strategic Executive Director Communications, Marketing & Events. Prior to joining Transnet, Nomasonto was at the helm of the Limpopo Tourism Agency in the position of Chief Executive Officer. A well-respected public speaker, content creator and opinion leader in the tourism industry, Nomasonto also mentors young upcoming tourism professionals.

“Our plans for the recovery of the tourism sector are well underway. As we move towards ensuring that we achieve this goal for our organisation and the greater tourism sector, it is important that we have strong leadership at SA Tourism. I am thrilled to welcome Nomasonto back to SA Tourism. Given her experience and expertise, I am confident that her extensive knowledge will be invaluable and will help SA Tourism achieve its mandate. I wish her every success in her new role at SA Tourism,” said Acting Chief Executive Officer, Themba Khumalo.

“The time to re-engineer the global positioning of South Africa and the rest of the African continent has come and should be led by SA Tourism. It is time for the re-birth of the industry and the recalibration of the people in the sector and I am looking forward to being a part of this,” said Ndlovu.

Khumalo also thanked Hanneli Slabber who has been holding the fort as Acting COO following the departure of Sthembiso Dlamini who held the position of COO.

“I would like to thank Hanneli for her dedication and commitment to ensuring a seamless transition. Hanneli will resume her role as the Regional General Manager: Asia / Australasia / Middle East as we continue to reignite our country’s tourism sector,” concluded Khumalo.