Tourist arrivals for May 2017 showed a gradual increase from major key markets, with France showing particularly strong growth consistent with the positive performance throughout the year so far.

Total arrivals grew by just 1% and overseas arrivals by 11% year to date, according to the latest figures from Statistics SA.

European arrivals for May 2017 are up 7% month-on-month. UK arrivals are up a mere 3% year-to-date; however the German market showed good growth, with an increase of 15% year-to-date, and a 5% month-to-month increase.

France, however, showed the most notable growth with a 35% year-to-date increase. May 2016 arrivals from France sat at 8 658, but for May 2017, arrivals were 12 093, resulting in a 40% month-on-month increase.

Arrivals from the US showed steady growth, with an 8% year-to-date increase and an 11% month-on-month increase for May 2017. Canada showed 10% growth year-on-year.

Australian arrivals are on the up by 8% year-to-date, jumping from 7 736 in May 2016 to 8 655 in May 2017, demonstrating a 12% month-on-month increase.

Brazil continues to show extraordinary growth with 2017 arrivals totalling 49 680 so far, a year-to-date increase of 120% and 103% increase for May 2017.

Arrivals from China continued to decline, with a 13% decrease in arrivals year-to-date. In May 2016 there were 8 247 arrivals from China, in May 2017 the number decreased to 6 524. This trend has been recurrent throughout the year, with February seeing a 27% decline in arrivals from China.

India, another key source market for SA, saw a 3% slow increase, year-to-date. In May 2016 arrivals from India were 14 237, whereas May 2017 only saw the number increase to 14 628 arrivals. India’s peak season is between May and July, so the small growth rate for the month of May may be cause for concern.

Throughout the week Tourism Update will be delving deeper into the reasons for these increases from major key markets, as well as investigating why certain key markets have become somewhat stagnant or seen a decline.