South Africa Tourist arrivals have been growing steadily despite challenges posed by the pandemic, such as rising inflation and high energy prices, which have affected household budgets around the world.
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The latest tourism arrival figures for January-March 2023 were released by the Ministry of Tourism, with Africa leading the way with 1.6 million, followed by Europe (387,000) and the Americas (104,000). The minister said that in the same period of 2023, the total number of international arrivals reached 2.1 million, an increase of 102.5 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
“The pandemic has had a significant impact on the tourism industry, however we are now stronger than ever and on track to reach and surpass pre-COVID-19 inbound tourism numbers,” he said. “South Africa finds himself again, and together we will make history.” In the first quarter of 2023, foreign direct spending increased by 143.9% compared to the first quarter of 2022, reaching 1.2 billion euros. Total foreign direct spending in the first quarter of this year is close to the record amount of R25.6 billion spent in January-March 2019, demonstrating the resilience of the sector.
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Europeans It spent the most at 521 million euros, followed by Africa at 449 million euros. Visitors from the UK spent less, falling 27% to €3.2bn, while visitors from the United States invested €2.6bn (€125m), up 28% on the same period in 2019. In terms of spending by our visitors, a significant increase in the amount spent by our visitors from Zimbabwe and Mozambique to €4.4 billion and €53 million respectively in Q1 2023, up 50% and 12% respectively from the same quarter in 2019.
Tourism in South Africa grew in the first quarter of 2022, with almost 5.8 million visitors, including 4 million from Africa, an increase of 152.6 percent compared to the first quarter of 2021. Overall, total arrivals increased by 102 percent. in 2022 and 2023, demonstrating the country’s attractiveness to international visitors. Bed nights recovered, although not to Q1 2019 levels.
According to De Lille, one of the reasons for these impressive numbers is that travel restrictions have been lifted and accessibility has improved. “After two years of restrictions and restrictions, travelers are eager to explore the vastness of open spaces that South Africa has to offer,” he said. “Inflation, rising energy costs and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have all contributed to economic constraints around the world.” He added that while there was a 44.9% drop in intercity arrivals in 2022 compared to 2019, there was an “incredible 141.9” increase in 2021.
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Domestic tourism showed “incredible resilience”, according to Tourism Minister Natty de Lille, with arrivals and spending surpassing pre-pandemic levels and for the first three months of 2022. “South Africa welcomes businesses and travelers from across Africa and the world. ,” he said, “To surpass pre-pandemic levels of tourism arrivals and spending, a concerted effort is needed between government, the private sector and civil society, as well as the tourism industry, to create a new travel experience.”
Tourism Business Council (TBC) welcomed the release of the data, saying the industry has long relied on tourism data to inform marketing and planning. “We used to get data very late, but now we have very fast data. we’re talking data as of March,” says TBC. “It’s important to get the data out as quickly as possible so we can know which markets we’re targeting.” For us, data is everything.
We know how much they are going to spend and we can sense the mood of the source markets. We are encouraged by the statistics and look forward to a strong year ahead. We are on track to meet some of our 2019 targets by October. Note: Tourism arrivals data are taken from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA:) This data is collected from all ports of entry on a monthly basis until Stats SA breaks it down into sub-categories according to international standards. SA Tourism also conducts a monthly survey of departing foreign nationals at OR Tambo/Cape Town International Airports and the 12 border crossings with the highest arrivals.
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