Voted among the top 50 most tourist-friendly countries in the world, by the World Economic Forum recently, South Africa remains a popular place to visit.
In the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report South Africa leads sub-Saharan Africa and ranks 48th overall (out of 141 countries); even higher on the list than Mauritius, a major tourist destination (56th). Why?
Our rich natural (20th) and cultural resources (22nd), a positive business environment (15th) โ no over-burdensome red tape and modest administrative burden โ and good infrastructure when compared to neighbouring countries.
We rank 24th in online searches for nature-related activities
This same comparative study suggests South Africa is still reaping the benefits of the 2010 World Cup. We continue to host several annual international association meetings (26th), are blessed with abundant wildlife (25th) and several World Heritage sites (15th), ranking 24th in online searches for nature-related activities.
Our attention to forestry places us 5th on the list, and our participation in international treaties has further supported our tourism industry.
Government has also backed down on the recent visa regulation changes introduced in June 2015, in the face of blame for a slump in tourism โ a 6% decrease in arrivals (the worst industry performance since 2009 and the global financial crisis).
Before the visa regulations South Africa was ranked 67th for its visa policy.
But just what is happening in tourism in South Africa? Who visits, how much do they spend and where do they come from? We gleaned statistics from a routine collection of data from DHA (Department of Home Affairs) at ports of entry in a report by StatsSA for Tourism Migration show for June 2015.
THE STATS โ JUST WHO VISITS SOUTH AFRICA?
โข Total visitors โ 3 026 499 (arrivals, departures, transits)
โข South African residents โ 868 229 (400 910 arrivals, 466 451 departures, 868 transit)
โข Foreign travellers โ 2 158 270 (1 087 067 arrivals, 1 006 275 departures, 64 928 transit)
Both foreign and local arrivals decreased compared with June 2014.
South Africa Receives 3 Types Of Visitors:
โข 22.3% arrivals only – arrive but do not depart in the same month
โข 37.4% single trips – arrive and leave in the same month
โข 40.3% multiple trips โ visitors to SA who left more than once in June 2015
HOW DO THEY TRAVEL?
Foreign Tourists Arrive:
โข 90% by aeroplane
โข 10% by road
SADC (Southern African Development Community) Tourists Arrive:
โข 93.6% by road
โข 6.4% by aeroplane
WHO VISITS SOUTH AFRICA?
โข 52 873 (46.5%) Europe
โข 29 421 (25.9%) North America
โข 16 897 (14.9%) Asia
โข 9 257 (8.1%) Australasia
โข 3 136 (2.8%) Central and South America
โข 2 105 (1.9%) Middle East
TOP 10 OVERSEAS COUNTRIES TO VISIT SOUTH AFRICA
These 10 countries make up 74.8% of all tourists from overseas countries:
โข 26 503 (23.3%) United States of America
โข 17 897 (15.7%) UK
โข 7 682 (6.8%) Australia
โข 6 983 (6.1%) Germany
โข 6 577 (5.8%) India
โข 5 112 (4.5%) France
โข 4 256 (3.7%) The Netherlands
โข 4 167 (3.7%) China
โข 2 922 (2.6%) Italy
โข 2 918 (2.6%) Canada
Overall, when comparing June 2014 to June 2015, the number of tourists decreased, except for France where the number of tourists increased. China, interestingly, had the largest decrease of 28.4% (and given a friend of mine’s experience trying to get a visa to visit South Africa from the South African embassy in China, I’m not terribly surprised).
VISITORS FROM AFRICA
482 523 Africa (virtually all tourists from Africa came from the SADC countries).
The Remaining Tourists From Africa Came From:
โข 6 896 (1.4%) West Africa
โข 4 366 (0.9%) East and Central Africa
โข 1 385 (0.3%) North Africa
TOP TEN SADC COUNTRIES TO VISIT SOUTH AFRICA
These 10 countries make up 99.3% of all tourists from SADC countries:
โข 138 502 (28.7%) Zimbabwe
โข 102 880 (21.3%) Lesotho
โข 93 697 (19.4%) Mozambique
โข 62 160 (12.9%) Swaziland
โข 39 707 (8.2%) Botswana
โข 13 845 (2.9%) Namibia
โข 13 234 (2.7%) Zambia
โข 9 736 (2.0%) Malawi
โข 2 756 (0.6%) Tanzania
โข 2 703 (0.6%) Angola
Movement comparison between June 2014 and June 2015 shows a decrease in all SACD countries, except for Namibia, Botswana and Tanzania.
WHICH COUNTRIES TO WATCH
โข European countries (except for Norway, where the number of visitors declined)
โข New Zealand and Malawi (numbers have flattened, but they are still interested)
โข Swaziland (number of tourists increased considerably)
WHY DO THEY VISIT?
โข 582 535 (95.5%) tourists
โข 24 176 (4%) business
โข 3 381 (0.6%) study
A Detailed Analysis Revealed:
At least 90% of overseas tourists came to South Africa for holidays. 97% of the tourists from Australasia, 96.8% of the the tourists from North America, 92.4% of those from central and South America, 92.4% from Europe, 91% from Asia and 90% from the Middle East were here on holiday.
Interestingly:
The Middle East had the highest proportions of tourists who also came to SA for business 7.8% and study 1.9%.
The majority of SADC tourists (95.8%) were on holiday, as were tourists from ‘other’ African countries.
Business people made up the 5.9% of tourists from ‘other’ African countries and 3.6% of SADC countries with North Africa having the highest proportion, 9.9%, of its tourists also in South Africa on business.
Students made up 3.1% of the tourists from ‘other’ African countries, compared with 0.5% of SADC countries.
WHAT ARE THEIR DEMOGRAPHICS?
โข 57.3% of tourists to South Africa are male
โข 42.7% of tourists to South Africa are female
Overseas tourists:
โข 59% male
โข 40.9% female
SADC tourists:
โข 56.6% male
โข 43.4% female
Other African tourists:
โข 70% male
โข 30% female
โข 3.8% were under 15 years of age
โข 92.6% were between 15 and 64
โข 3.6% were over 65 years
Above stats are based on: routine collection of data from DHA (Department of Home Affairs) at ports of entry show for June 2015.
HOW MUCH DO THEY SPEND?
Travel and tourism contributed 3.0% of total GDP in 2014, forecast to rise to 3.8% this year. The sector is expected to grow by 4.6% pa to ZAR184.7bn (3.4% of GDP) by 2025.
Inbound tourism expenditure totalling R71 747 million was recorded in 2011. The main expenditure items were ‘non-specific products’ (22,4%), ‘accommodation for visitors’ (15,7%) and ‘road passenger transport services’ (13,6%). Inbound tourism expenditure totalling R94 183 million was recorded in 2013. The main expenditure items were ‘non-specific products’ (27,0%), ‘connected products’ (14,6%), ‘accommodation for visitors’ (14,2%) and ‘road passenger transport services’ (11,9%).
Tourism Satellite Account publication Report no. 04-05-07 March 2015
Destination Links
โข South Africa Attractions
โข Things to do in South Africa
โข South Africa Accommodation
โข South Africa Hotels
