Government recognises that tourism is a key economic driver and is scaling up a range of tourism promotion strategies to restore inbound tourism figures to pre-pandemic levels.
According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, these strategies include an improved tourism visa regime, streamlining the tour operator licensing process, increased investment in tourism infrastructure and services and improving safety and security at tourism sites.
In his letter to the nation this week following the festive season, Ramaphosa focused on the potential for further growth in the tourism sector, noting that South Africa’s hosting of the G20 Summit is an opportunity to profile and actively promote South Africa as a tourism destination of choice.
According to UN Tourism, the G20 economies represent over 70% of all international tourist arrivals worldwide and 82% of tourism’s global GDP.
“Just as Brazil did last year during its hosting of the G20 Summit, South Africa will promote the role of tourism in creating jobs and advancing sustainable development in the countries of the Global South,” said Ramaphosa.
The World Economic Forum ranked South Africa as Africa’s premier tourism destination in 2024, highlighted the president. This is due to factors such as the business operating environment, information technology and tourism infrastructure and services.
Data shows significant increases
“Following a slump in tourism numbers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, inbound tourism is on the rise. In 2023, South Africa recorded around 8.5 million international tourist arrivals. These visitors spent over R95 billion (€4.8bn),” said Ramaphosa.
Domestic tourism is the mainstay of the tourism economy, he pointed out. Between January and July last year, South Africans took over 21 million trips to explore their country.
“Our tourism sector has potential to be even larger than it currently is,” stated Ramaphosa.
The South African tourism sector employs about 1.5 million people directly and indirectly. “Through the Presidential Employment Stimulus, we continue to support job creation by providing work opportunities for young people as tourism monitors in different provinces and supporting tourism-related small, medium and micro enterprises,” noted Ramaphosa.
Tourism is a growth area for small business development, he added. “In line with the global shift towards sustainability, figures from South African (SA) Tourism show that increasing numbers of new tourism ventures are centred around sustainable tourism and eco-friendly business practices.”
Welcoming Ramaphosa’s reaffirmation of the vital role the tourism sector plays in driving inclusive economic growth, job creation and sustainable development, SA Tourism highlighted early indicators from the recent festive season suggesting strong sector performance with high occupancy rates and strong participation in events across the country.
SA Tourism CEO Nombulelo Guliwe said: “The country’s tourism sector continues to show strong recovery and growth. Between January and October 2024, South Africa welcomed 7.2 million visitors – an impressive 5.7% increase compared to the same period last year.”
This bodes well for further growth this year.
