The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed that the South African travel and tourism sector’s GDP will drive the national economic recovery consistently over the next decade.

The forecast from WTTC’s Economic Impact Report shows the sector is forecast to grow at an average rate of 7.6% annually over the next decade, significantly outstripping the 1.8% growth rate of the country’s overall economy.

By 2032, the sector’s contribution to GDP could reach more than R554.6bn (€29.8bn) – 7.4% of the total economy – injecting nearly R287bn (€15.4bn) into the national economy.

The sector is also expected to create more than 800 000 jobs over the next decade, to reach more than 1.9 million by 2032.

Although the data reveals a bright future for South Africa’s travel and tourism sector, the recovery was seriously hampered after the detection and surge of the Omicron variant.

Many countries around the world placed severe and damaging restrictions on African countries, which caused even further damage to those economies and put thousands more livelihoods at risk.

By the end of this year, travel and tourism’s contribution to GDP is expected to grow 37.2% year-on-year, to nearly R268bn (€14.4bn) – 4.3% of the total economy. Employment in the sector is set to grow by 38% to reach more than 1.1 million jobs.

“Although the future looks bright for the South African travel and tourism sector, the recovery this year will be slower than expected. Knee-jerk travel restrictions imposed on South Africa and other African destinations were impulsive and unjustified. Instead of punishing, these countries should have been praised for discovering the variant early,” Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, points out. “However, with GDP contribution and jobs on the rise, the long-term forecast looks very positive.”

20 000 jobs recovered in 2021

In 2019, the South African travel and tourism sector’s contribution to GDP as a share of total economy was 6.4% – R405.2bn (€21.7bn), falling to just 3% – R180bn (€9.6bn) in 2020, which represented a staggering 55.6% loss.

The sector also supported more than 1.5 million jobs across the country before suffering a 29.9% drop, falling to just over one million.

WTTC’s latest report also reveals that 2021 finally saw the beginning of the recovery for South Africa’s travel and tourism sector.

Last year, its contribution to GDP climbed 8.4% year on year, to reach just over R195bn (€10.4bn) The sector also saw a recovery of 20 000 travel and tourism jobs, representing a 1.9% rise, to reach almost 1.1 million.