International travelers to South Africa are spending more, according to a new survey by credit card company Visa Inc.
 
Paul Wilke, Visa’s senior business leader global corporate relations, says more than 13m transactions totaling US$1,8bn were made by international visitors to South Africa in 2008, up 11% from 2007. Nearly half of the transactions came from UK and US cardholders, who contributed more than US$812m to the South African economy last year, followed by cardholders from Germany, France, Australia, Namibia, Canada, Botswana, Mozambique and Switzerland.
 
He was presenting the results of “Tourism Outlook: South Africa”, a publication that details the spending of 5 539 international Visa cardholders who visited South Africa over the past two years.
 
Wilke said the positive trends were continuing in 2009. In the first quarter of 2009, international Visa cardholders spent about US$500m in South Africa, roughly equal to spending over the same period last year. One area of notable increase was from visitors from Mozambique, which accounted for US$21m – a 160% increase over the first half of 2008.
 
Retail purchases made up the largest share of tourism spend. In 2008, general retail accounted for 49% (US$892m) of all purchases made by international Visa cardholders in South Africa, followed by accommodation (13% - US$235m); local airlines (7% - US$125m); travel agencies (US$77,9m); and restaurants (US$72,2m). Top spenders per transaction were from Hong Kong (US$228), China (US$206) and Ireland (US$200).
 
“People are still traveling, but they are staying closer to home,” summarized Wilke. “Travellers look to multiple sources when they do research. They talk to their friends and they go online. The economy is a hindrance, but not an obstacle to travel. Travellers prefer the convenience of paying by credit card, but the cost of travel is currently the biggest factor impacting on travel,” he said.