Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille
South Africa is increasing its market share of tourists from the rest of Africa as visa waiver schemes make it easier for visitors to travel to the country.
According to the latest Statistics South Africa data, the country welcomed 1.8 million tourists from the rest of Africa from January to March 2024, marking a significant 74.5% of all arrivals, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille told delegates at the opening of Africa’s Travel Indaba 2024 in Durban on Tuesday.
“International tourist arrivals from January to March 2024 totalled 2.4 million, representing a remarkable 15.4% increase when compared with the same period in 2023,” De Lille said. Of the 8.5 million international tourists that visited in 2023, 6.4million arrivals were from the rest of the African continent.
“Zimbabwe and Ghana stood out for their remarkable growth, with Zimbabwe experiencing a 21.8% increase in tourist arrivals to South Africa when compared to 2023, totalling more than 613 000 arrivals.”
Ghana recorded a 249.4% surge when compared with 2023, reaching 7 904 arrivals from January to March 2024.
“Ghana’s immense performance can be attributed to the fact that travellers between Ghana and South Africa no longer need visas for a period of up to 90 days within a calendar year, for purposes of business or tourism,” De Lille said.
South Africa and Ghana announced a visa-waiver scheme on 1 November last year, allowing citizens to travel freely between the two countries.
South Africa has visa waivers for 132 countries and is negotiating to extend this to a further 10 countries. De Lille said her department was working closely with the department of home affairs and the presidency on visa issues.
International arrivals rise
“Travellers from other parts of the world also continued to show their appreciation and love for South Africa. For the first three months of 2024, tourist arrivals from the Americas registered at more than 118 000, reflecting a 12.4% growth compared to the same period in 2023,” she said.
South Africa received more than 420 000 tourists from Europe, an 8.6% increase on the same period in 2023. More than 125 000 tourists visited from the United Kingdom, marking 5.3% growth, while German arrivals rose 9.9% to 98 900.
Asian markets also grew significantly, with more than 49 000 arrivals from the region, an increase of 25.4%. This included 16 209 tourists from India and more than 11 000 from China.
De Lille said South Africans had also supported the recovery of the tourism sector during 2023, with the number of domestic trips rising to 130% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, while domestic spending increased by more than 80%.
“South Africans have truly gone out for revenge tourism and have rediscovered their love for exploring their own country and we thank all our locals for supporting tourism businesses and job creation,” De Lille said.
Travellers are seeking “more than just ordinary experiences” and the country’s diversity presents this opportunity, she said.
“They yearn for new, unique, unforgettable experiences that will form the cornerstone of lasting memories. We call on all tourism sector partners to work with us to support and market the tourism offerings in our townships, villages and dorpies,” De Lille said, adding that her department had funded the participation of 120 small businesses from across the country who are exhibiting at the Hidden Gems pavilion.
Tourism is a significant contributor to economic growth and job creation. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the South African tourism sector created 1.3 million jobs in 2023, accounting for 8.7% of all jobs.
“Preliminary estimates, according to the WTTC is that the tourism sector contributed 6.8% to the country’s GDP worth R458.9 billion. Furthermore, the direct contribution of the Africa’s Travel Indaba in 2023 to the South African economy is projected at R408.6 million,” De Lille said.
An additional R776.4 million is projected to be generated through indirect and induced stimulation, resulting in a total contribution of R1.2 billion to the economy.
De Lille said it was important to make it easier for travellers to reach tourism destinations on the continent.
“While our continent’s tourism sector is looking really good and progressing we still need to work on certain areas that inhibit us from growing exponentially. Air access is one of such critical areas where a significant amount of work is needed urgently to improve air access in Africa and for the rest of the world to connect with us,” she said, adding that African ministers had discussed the issue with global aviation industry leaders at a meeting on Monday.
“The time for talking is now over and it is time to finalise agreements and implement an enhanced air access system for Africa. While we have seen great strides made in immigration policy regulations, and have witnessed the gains from these strides, some markets still remain with marked challenges in this regard,” De Lille said.
More than 1 200 exhibitors from 26 African countries and more than 1100 buyers, including inbound tour operators, foreign travel agents, airlines and tourism companies representing 55 countries, are attending the three-day conference that runs until Thursday.