After five years, Jerry Mpufane has left his post as president of the North American hub of South African Tourism, the government tourism board, to pursue other opportunities. Although his tenure 2019-2024 included the time of COVID’s global rampage, Mpufane leaves SAT in a better position than when he took the post in May 2019. When he started, North America, including Canada and the United States, was the third largest source market for South African visitors. Now it’s the largest.
I spoke to Jerry Mpufane recently. He told me that during his time as head of SAT North America, he observed a powerful demand for economic and cultural exchange between North America and South Africa. The demand for cultural and economic exchange is robust in both directions, each side intensely interested in the other side’s culture, history and economic exchange opportunities. For South Africa, North America is a freshly growing market, still young and robust.
For the US to surpass Britain as South Africa’s top source market is hugely significant. With more than two centuries of close involvement between Britain and South Africa, Britain has always been the largest source market for South African tourism.
The UK’s colonial ties with South Africa began in the early 1800s. South Africa is a member of the British Commonwealth. Britain and South Africa have been hand-in-glove for a long time. But the large population of North America is just now waking up to South Africa, and that sleeping giant is huge. The growth potential is astronomical. North America had become South Africa’s top market, but it’s just getting started. It’s a moment of tremendous opportunity in the markets of exchange between North America and South Africa, especially tourism.
“We’ve learned that there is a strong demand for cultural and economic exchanges between North America and South Africa,” he said. “North America wants it and South Africa wants it. There is energy on both ends, and opportunity on both ends, potential for wins.”
South African Tourism has served as a bridge. Mpufane’s vision now is to continue that work in the private sector. From his vantage point, the demand far exceeds the supply. He wants to use the knowledge he has gained from mounting marketing campaigns for South Africa, along with his previous work in the private sector, and to put it to use growing businesses that deal in tourism and cultural exchange.
South African Stories
South African Tourism has achieved its success in marketing itself by telling its story. It’s a compelling story and it’s made up of innumerable individual stories. Jerry Mpufane’s is one of them. His life is an inspiring success story. His rise from childhood in the township of Ga-Rankuwa to where he is now, and where he is headed, was highly improbable.
“A person of my profile and upbringing almost never prospered,” he said. “I had to work hard, but it’s a miracle that a guy could come out of a township to be able to do what I do today.”
Typical of the times, the township, 23 miles northwest of Pretoria, lacked basic services. The townships were outside of the cities, where Black South Africans were forced to live separately from whites under apartheid. Those who had service jobs in the cities would commute in and out every day. Jerry’s mother spent most of her days working in Pretoria, leaving in the morning about 4 or 5 a.m. and returning around 6 or 7 p.m. The kids had to make do in the township without her. Jerry was the second of five children. He and his older brother had to take responsibility for the younger children. He grew up quickly.
But he was highly intelligent and motivated. He had some lucky breaks and made the most of them. One break was through a resident of the township who took it upon himself to provide little libraries and a sports club for the township kids. He counseled them and gave them a picture of the world beyond the township that they could aspire to be a part of.
“He was someone who was able to say to a group, ‘You are bigger than this township, where you see no life, no prospects and no hope,’” said Mpufane. “Once we became aware that the world was bigger than the environment we grew up in, our prospects were greater.”
The man encouraged the children to write letters to seek opportunities. Jerry’s letter writing led to a job at a film production company. “That’s where I got my first taste of this thing called advertising,” he said.
He was able to qualify for a scholarship to Wits University in Johannesburg to study the science of marketing. From there, he stayed in Johannesburg, pursued his professional life and became highly successful.
He worked on branding in a number of industries, including automobile manufacture, hospitality, airlines, food, quick-service restaurants, hotel groups and banks. His positions included chairman of the M&C SAATCHI Group, and CEO of the Jupiter Drawing Room, which was voted Agency of the Decade in 2010 by the business weekly FinWeek.
From 2004 through 2006 he ran the global advertising portfolio for South African Tourism, building a strong background for the time when he would take over the North American hub in 2019.
The Energy of Passion
Jerry came into his position at the head of SAT in New York like a meteor, a ball of fire, charged up and ready to dive into the market. He had the energy and drive of a young man, coupled with a large bank of experience and education. His 25 years in marketing had given him a nuanced understanding of marketing principles, as well as of the newest methods of targeting and measuring. Those methods have gotten results for South Africa, and the results are measurable.
He draws his energy from his passion, because he really believes in what he’s doing. It’s not just a gig, it’s a calling. He calls tourism “the industry of peace. At its core, it’s about humanity. The more people cross pollinate, the more enlightenment.”
For South Africans, working to promote tourism is not just a job, it’s public service. It’s helping the country grow, doing your part to lift the young democracy by its bootstraps.
South Africa is a unique combination of a developed country, and a developing country. In 1994, when Mandela was elected president, it was the first time Black South Africans, who constituted a majority, could vote. Since then they have had the vote, and are liberated in that sense. All South Africans are now recognized as full citizens with the full rights of citizenship, unlike during the apartheid period. It’s been a great liberation from a grossly oppressive system.
But lifting those populations who were previously barred from participation to a position of economic freedom and prosperity is a harder task. It can’t happen overnight. It’s a long-distance run. But there is no better industry than tourism to bring money into the country and spread it around among all sectors of the population. Tourism is an industry in which practically everyone can participate, or receive some benefit from.
“For developing countries tourism carries unique benefits,” he said. “No one gets left behind. South Africa is experiencing growth across all areas, in the absolute number of visitors, length of stay, spend per visitor and geographic spread of travel.”
In South Africa a person who dedicates oneself to building tourism business for one’s country is part of the mission to lift the whole country by its bootstraps. The benefit to the country’s economy is vital, and measurable. The progress can be accounted for. So tourism in South Africa is not just another business. It’s a patriotic mission.
Jerry’s work for SAT has been a stunning success. I look forward to seeing the next phase of his career.
David Cogswell is a freelance writer working remotely, from wherever he is at the moment. Born at the dead center of the United States during the last century, he has been incessantly moving and exploring for decades. His articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Fox News, Luxury Travel Magazine, Travel Weekly, Travel Market Report, Travel Agent Magazine, TravelPulse.com, Quirkycruise.com, and other publications. He is the author of four books and a contributor to several others. He was last seen somewhere in the Northeast US.
