# Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille says tourism infrastructure investment is critical to ensuring that the sector can respond to growing demand. According to Statistics South Africa, tourism directly employed 953-thousand-981 people in 2024, accounting for 5.7-percent of total employment, while its direct contribution to the economy reached 4.9-percent of gross domestic product. De Lille says her department has established a Tourism Infrastructure Facilitation Unit to help remove barriers faced by investors and assist priority projects towards implementation:
Department of Tourism is helping remove barriers faced by investors [SOUND]
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