After Tourism Update covered the significant potential of avitourism to contribute to South Africa’s tourism economy, we wanted to know whether our readership was considering harnessing this sector.
The results of our poll indicate that a significant proportion (28%) said they would be leveraging birding tourism in their offerings. A total of 57% of readers said they would not be, while 15% were unsure.
The global birdwatching tourism market is currently valued at around US$659.4 billion and is predicted to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 5.3%, reaching a value of $1.1 trillion by 2034, according to a report by Future Market Insights.
Given that avitourism around the world and locally has grown exponentially, the value of the industry in South Africa today is well over R2 billion (€97m) annually, according to BirdLife South Africa.
Which countries are the biggest adventure seekers?
A recent survey from South African Tourism found that South Africa, with its dazzling variety of attractions, is securing a larger share of adventure travellers from a range of key source markets. Europeans were especially keen on South Africa’s adventure offerings in 2023, accounting for 65% of the 722 900 adventure tourists who arrived in the country.
Overall, the UK, Germany, the US, Netherlands and France were the top five adventure tourist markets by volume. Additionally, around half of all travellers from the Nordic countries of Norway and Sweden were categorised as adventure tourists, indicating a strong preference for adventurous travel from these smaller markets.
From your experience, which markets are the most eager for adventure?
Our poll question this week is:
