By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille, alongside South African Tourism and the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), shared the tourism sector’s collective efforts in boosting the economy and enriching the lives of South Africans.
De Lille said, her department is currently working on finalising our 5 year plan which will align to the Government of National Unity (GNU) priorities, the National Development Plan, the Tourism Sector Master Plan and the National Tourism Sector Strategy.
GNU has resolved to dedicate the next five years to actions that will advance three strategic priorities:
- Firstly, to drive inclusive growth and job creation.
- Secondly, to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living.
- Thirdly, to build a capable, ethical and developmental state.
Those are the three priorities for government and all departments, entities and sectors must make a contribution to achieving these priorities within the next 5 years, She said.
“We have just finalised a 2-day departmental Lekgotla together with SA Tourism where we have made an assessment of where we are now.
“The next part of the plan is to map where we want to go and how we will get to the 15million arrivals by 2030.”
De Lille added that her department will also be working with Operation Vulindlela in the Presidency and Departments of Home Affairs, Transport and Sport, Arts and Culture to:
- Facilitate improvements in the visa regime
- Grow the number of direct flights to and from South Africa
- Implement a more seamless tour operator licence process and
- Invest in infrastructure and tourism sites that reflect and showcase our diverse culture and heritage for visitors to enjoy
Importance of tourism in South Africa
- Tourism is an engine for economic growth and is vital for South Africa for several reasons:
- Economic Growth: Tourism is a major source of revenue, significantly contributing to the national GDP
- Employment: The sector supports thousands of jobs directly and indirectly, providing livelihoods for many South Africans.
- Infrastructure Development: The demand from tourism drives infrastructure development, benefiting other sectors
Global Tourism Performance
Arrivals
According to the United Nations (UN) Tourism organisation, of which South Africa is a member state, 2023 ended with global tourism arrivals at 11% below 2019 levels.
Europe was 4% below, the Asia Pacific region was 35% below, the Americas were 9% below, and Africa was 4% above 2019 levels.
That already demonstrates how well the African tourism sector fared in 2023 compared to the rest of the world.
All over the world, countries have risen from the ashes of the pandemic and indeed our growth for arrivals to South Africa has seen robust improvement.
Global Tourism Income
In 2023, international tourism receipts reached 1.5 trillion US dollars, nearly matching pre-pandemic levels according to statistics released by UN Tourism.
Tourism’s direct contribution to GDP also recovered to pre-pandemic levels, reaching an estimated 3.3 trillion US dollars, equivalent to 3% of global GDP.
The UN Tourism Panel of Experts highlighted ongoing economic and geopolitical challenges across the world leading to tourists being more likely to seek value for money and travel closer to home due to economic pressures.
These findings guide us and places the imperative on us to make it easier for people to choose South Africa as a destination through a seamless visa regime, improved air access and putting together innovative and affordable travel packages, she explained.
South Africa’s performance
In 2023, South Africa welcomed around 8.5million international arrivals – up by 48.9% from the 5.7million arrivals in 2022 which contributed R95 billion in terms of spend.
The R95billion Total Tourist Foreign Direct Spend was an increase of 92% in 2023, surpassing 2019 levels a new all-time high for the destination.
From January to May this year, we welcomed 3.8million international arrivals, up by 9.7% compared to 2023.
For the first Quarter of 2024: Total spend was R25.7 billion from foreign travel into South Africa.
The regional distribution of tourists into South Africa from January to May 2023 highlights the varied share across different markets:
- Africa Land Market: Dominated with 72% of arrivals (2.78 million)
- Africa Air Market: 3.1% (117 000)
- Europe: 15.2% (578 000)
- The Americas: 5.3% (203 000)
- Asia, Australasia, and the Middle East: 3.9% (149 000)
According to projections by Oxford Economics, arrivals by the end of 2024 are estimated to reach 10.7 million, surpassing 2019 levels.
International arrivals to South Africa is expected to grow to 15.1 million by 2030, based on Oxford’s updated projections for 2024.
Tourism’s contrinution to GDP in South Africa
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Tourism’s contribution to South Africa’s GDP was 9.5% in 2019.
Tourism’s contribution to the GDP naturally dipped during COVID-19 but recovered to 8.2% in 2023.
It is estimated to rise to 8.8% by the end of 2024 and reach 10.4% of GDP by 2030.
For comparability, according to WTTC’s 2023 estimates, Thailand’s contribution to GDP was 13.3%, Australia’s was 8.1%, Brazil’s was 7.8%, and Kenya’s was 6.7%.
Tourism is therefore a vital sector for South Africa, contributing more to GDP than transport, mining, and agriculture, and nearly matching the government’s contribution to GDP.
Tourism’s employment statistics
According to WTTC statistics, South Africa’s tourism sector employed 1.46million people in 2023 and is expected to grow to nearly 1.7 million jobs in 2024.
The WTTC further projects that employment in the tourism sector for South Africa is projected to grow to and 2.23million jobs in 2030.
Domestic Travel
De Lille said SA recorded 38 million domestic trips which contributed R121 billion in terms of spend for 2023.
The domestic market’s spending was higher than international arrivals spend, underscoring the significant economic impact of domestic tourism.
Domestic air access
Domestic air travel has yet to return to 2019 levels in terms of the number of flights.
In 2024, there are 143 000 flights compared to 167 000 flights in 2019.
Although seat capacity has been increasing over the past three years, it reached 18 million seats in 2024 but it is still below the 22 million seats in 2019.
Domestic tourism is the bedrock of our sector and we are working closely with partners such as TBCSA, SATOVITO, SATSA and others to drive further improvements for domestic travellers such as making travel more affordable and accessible.
She said the annual Sho’t Left Campaign encouraging locals to travel and explore their own country where South African establishments offer discounted deals.
Sho’t Left Travel week takes place in September where South Africans can get discounted travel deals between the 2nd and 8th September but they can travel when it suits them later .
Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) Performance
South Africa is also known as a prime business travel destination and hosts hundreds of meetings, conferences and events each year.
South Africa has improved its global ranking as a business event destination, moving up five spots in the 2023 International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Global Ranking Report.
“We remain the number one meeting and conference destination in Africa and the Middle East, according to the 2023 ICCA ranking report, said the minister.
In 2023, South Africa hosted 98 international and regional association meetings and conferences that met the criteria set by the International Congress and Conventions Association (ICCA).
Safety
To enhance tourism safety, the Department of Tourism invested R174million to deploy more than 2 300 tourism monitors to be deployed to key tourist sites to enhance visitor safety.
The private sector has also made investment to enhance safety measures and this work together with the police and all partners will continue to ensure that all travellers are safe in South Africa.
The majority of travellers have a safe, pleasant and unforgettable experience in South Africa but we must do more to clamp down on crime.
VISAS
South Africa has visa waivers in place for 132 countries meaning travellers from these countries do not need a visa to come to South Africa for periods of up to 90 days so there we have already made it easy for people to get to South Africa from all these countries.
The minister said the department has also launched the e-visa application system to 34 countries however there are substantial improvements needed here especially for key source markets such as China and India.
Tour operator licences
In another area of work around reducing red tape for the sector, she said they have been working closely with the Department of Transport to reduce the waiting time for tour operator licences.
“We welcome the signing of the National Land Transport Amendment Bill into law, by the President in June 2024. The amended Act will enhance efficiency.
From June 2023 to June 2024, the NPTR held 19 adjudication meetings and adjudicated a total of 952 applications for operating licenses for tourist transport services.
Infrastructure investment
To stimulate demand as outlined in the Tourism Sector Master Plan – she further said the department will continue to invest in infrastructure development if new and existing tourism establishments.
“As outlined in the Tourism Budget Speech, last year, the Department spent approximately R 95 million on 25 maintenance projects various provinces.
For this financial year, the Department has allocated just over R 81 million on maintenance projects in the Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Northern Cape and the North West.