Kabelo dreams big!

Thabazimbi – Kabelo Mothupi works hard and it goes to show with all the awards in his pocket. Mothupi, a tourism ambassador and nationally award-winning tourist guide won the Lilizela Best of the Best Tourism Awards 2016/2017 and was a nominee in the Lilizela Tourism National Awards 2017.

Mothupi, born and bred in Thabazimbi, studied Mandarin in China from 2016-2017.

He is passionate about this language. Over 128 million Chinese tourists visited countries, other than their own, in 2015. Chinese outbound tourist numbers are expected to reach over 242 million by 2024.

In an interview with the Platinum Bushvelder newspaper, Mothupi says: “Chinese tourists are also known to spend far more than other tourists on shopping, for instance. South Africa has enjoyed spectacular growth in arrivals from China last year. Arrivals between January and August last year were 64% better than the same period in 2015.”

Mothupi see his Mandarin as a river to connect with these visitors. “Language breaks barriers,” he says.

Mothupi is proud of his Lilizela Best of the Best Provincial Award, won on 18 September this year. He is also extatic about his nomination at the Lilizela Tourism National Awards on 29 October.