Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has called off the deal between Tottenham Hotspur and the South African Tourism board.
De Lille last week advised the board not to go ahead and sign the deal.
The minister said on Thursday the board had responded to her request and agreed with her.
The deal was worth almost R1 billion and would have seen Tottenham Hotspur, one of the top sides in English Premier League partnering with SA Tourism to market the country.
De Lille said in the midst of the tough economic conditions it was not correct to use this kind of money in a sponsorship.
“In a letter from the SA Tourism board chairperson, based on the advice I have given to the board and which I had publicly stated, that the deal should not proceed, the SA Tourism board has agreed not to proceed with the proposal. The SA Tourism board will no longer proceed with the transaction, nor will it seek the concomitant requisite approvals for the proposed transaction,” said De Lille.
She said she would continue to work with SA Tourism to find better options to promote South Africa to tourists overseas.
South Africa had been one of the top destinations for tourists in the past decade until Covid-19 caused disruption in the sector.
But De Lille said there will always be ways of getting more people abroad to visit the country.
One of her immediate tasks was to increase the number of tourists who come to South Africa.
She will look at the issues at hand and engage with the SA Tourism board, she said.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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