Statistics SA has released the final numbers for South Africa’s July tourist arrivals. Overall, 2018 thus far is faring slightly below 2017, with overall arrivals dropping by 2%.
Continuing from June’s poor performance, the European market has also shown a decline, delivering 876 884 arrivals so far in 2018, 2% down from last year. Arrivals from key markets are consistent with the overall year trend, generally showing declines across the board:
- UK (246 063), down 5%
- USA (218 277), up 1%
- Germany (176 740), down 1%
- France (101 936), down 3%
- The Netherlands (77 198), down 7%
- Australia (63 130), no change
- India (57 219), down 3%
- China (55 058), down 2%
- Brazil (40 120), up 4%
- Canada (36 570), no change
Graph of the July year-to-date arrivals for the last three years.
Despite the overall decline, certain source markets have shown growth in 2018. Belgium has grown by 6%, meaning 30 644 visitors this year. Italy and Austria are also reflecting growth of 3% and 2%, respectively. Visitor numbers from Japan have also shown small growth of 1%, translating to 14 658 visitors in 2018.
Notably, the South American market continues to grow, seeing a 7% increase this year, translating to 4 487 more visitors in 2018 than in 2017. Brazil has grown 4%, while Argentina has risen 28% to 12 996 visitors this year to date.
In a recent examination of the market, Tourism Update asked industry leaders to reflect on the markets as they stand. Overall, the feeling was positive but realistic, with many people pointing towards visa issues and the Cape Town water crisis as reasons for the decline. Special Advisor to the Department of Tourism, Gillian Saunders also noted: “Canned hunting and international feelings towards hunting are also starting to affect our reputation. Safety and security continue to be a concern, particularly service delivery protests. News of land grabs and the land question have also affected us, but we are drafting messaging around that to help reassure the trade.” Saunders also notes that often changes happen very quickly, and that the country is slow to react, particularly with regards to adjusting marketing tactics.
However, both SA Tourism CEO Sisa Ntshona and Saunders told Tourism Update that bookings for 2019 are already reflecting an uptick in numbers, and are expected to grow more as news of stable water levels in the Western Cape spreads.
South Africa’s largest market overall continues to be SADC countries, with Zimbabwe topping the pile.
The top five SADC source markets are:
- Zimbabwe (1 266 681), up 1%
- Lesotho (1 093 341), up 1%
- Mozambique (800 688), up 3%
- Swaziland (494 318), no change
- Botswana (363 240), up 2%
For the month of July, OR Tambo International Airport remained the key port of entry for foreign visitors, with 224 549 travellers arriving in Johannesburg. Cape Town International Airport saw 51 780 arrivals while King Shaka International Airport in Durban saw 5 018 arrivals. According to the report, 1 016 506 people arrived by road and 3 367 arrived by sea.
The country remains predominantly a leisure destination with 96% of visitors coming to South Africa on holiday, 3% on business travel and 1% arriving to study for the month of July.
