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We’ve all been a little worried about the state of our country putting tourists off.

There are the rampant muggings on Lion’s Head and Signal Hill, along with the tattered state of Kirstenbosch, and not knowing if our beaches are swimmable, plus load-shedding to boot, all causing alarm.

While none of this seems to bode well for the festive season, Statistics SA has assured us that a wonderful influx of tourists is coming to visit us anyway.

With healthy inbound travel figures already seen this year, South Africa can expect a thriving tourism season over the coming months, per The Citizen.

Between January to July alone, a sizeable 4.8 million international tourists visited South Africa, according to the Government Communications and Information System. That is an increase of 70.6% compared to the same period in 2022.

StatsSA, meanwhile, reported that foreign arrivals increased by 20.1% year-on-year in the August report; (from 820,708 in August 2022 to 985,800 in August 2023); departures rose by 22,6%; and transits increased by 32.9%.

These numbers show that our country still proves to be a desirable and attractive location for globe trotters.

The top international tourist arrivals were from the United Kingdom, Germany, the US and the Netherlands, per the 2023 Q1 statistics. And while local hospitality businesses are used to seeing people from these countries, Anton Gillis, CEO at Kruger Gate Hotel, said that they are now seeing an increase in Middle Eastern holidaymakers, too:

Middle Eastern holidaymakers are spending roughly between 15 and 20 days in South Africa, making this a lucrative, growing market, added Gillis.

He also mentioned that India has emerged as SA’s sixth-largest foreign source market, with South Africa observing a 200% surge in travellers from India over the last year. Indian travellers are projected to spend over $42 billion per year on outbound travel by next year.

The boost in airlines bringing people to and from South Africa has also been a huge help.

“Many international airlines cut back on their capacity during the pandemic but airlines are reintroducing flights. This increased airlift capacity can only have a positive impact on the local economy,” said Sandra Kneubuhler, Radisson Hotel Group’s district director and country director of sales for South Africa.

Kneubuhler said South African Airways has just resumed flights between Cape Town and Joburg to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Virgin Atlantic has resumed its Cape Town and London flight route – which will add 80 000 seats to the route.

The airlines also working to boost our tourism industry include the resumption of the Hong Kong-Joburg route by Cathay Pacific; Ethiopian Airlines’ plans to increase flights to South Africa by up to 35 flights a week; Swiss airline Edelweiss adding to its capacity between Cape Town and Zurich; Saudia to start direct flights from Jeddah to Joburg in December; Lufthansa launching three weekly flights between Joburg and Munich; and United Airlines plans to start flying from Chicago to Joburg soon.

A Cities Economic Impact Report by the World Travel & Tourism Council also recently confirmed that South Africa’s travel and tourism sector is healing significantly.

There’s it.

[source:citizen]