Travellers to SA are on the rise
Statistics South Africa’s latest data indicates a steady climb in people entering SA. By
South Africa’s ports of entry saw more than two million travellers in October – a slight increase on September’s numbers but a sharp year-on-year rise in foreign arrivals, from 337,611 in October 2021 to 815,889, which is an improvement of 141.7%.
Of the 2,216,962 travellers who passed (legally) through South Africa’s border crossings, 672,208 were deemed residents of the country and 565,862 were overnight visitors or tourists.
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released its latest statistics for tourism and migration on 29 November, indicating that 1,544,754 foreign travellers visited SA in October this year, with 815,889 foreign arrivals comprising 64,511 non-visitors and 751,378 visitors – 185,516 of whom were same-day visitors.
The regional breakdown of tourists is as follows: 151,189 from overseas; 402,365 from the SADC countries; and 11,116 from “other” African countries. The country of residence of 1,192 tourists was classified as unspecified.
Stats SA’s previous tourism and migration statistics, for July 2022, indicated that 2,075,688 travellers had passed through the country’s ports of entry and exit. Of those, 715,714 were South African residents and 1,359,974 foreign travellers, with 507,824 overnight visitors or tourists.
A year-on-year comparison shows some promising signs: between October 2021 and October 2022, the volume of arrivals, departures and travellers in transit had increased for both South African residents and foreign travellers. For
SA residents, the volume of arrivals increased by 101.3% (from 173,890 to 349,974). Departures increased by 83.5% (from 175,352 to 321,857) and transits by 98.4% (from 190 to 377). There was a sharp year-on-year increase in foreign arrivals, from 337,611 to 815,889 – a 141.7% rise. Departures increased by 135.2% (from 298,073 to 700,953), and transits increased by 69.4%.
Tourism currently contributes 3.7% to SA’s GDP, from 6.9% pre-Covid.
Wesgro says tourism recovery in the Western Cape has climbed sharply, with Cape Town International Airport reflecting a notable aviation recovery. In October 2022, return passengers through the airport’s international terminal were up 83% compared with October 2019’s numbers, while the domestic terminal recovery was at 73%. George Airport almost fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, reaching 90%.
Most tourists came from the UK, followed by the US, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
Hotel occupancy for the Western Cape stood at 65.6% in October 2022, which was a recovery rate of 95% on October 2019.
Western Cape’s domestic tourism
During Q3 2022, the Western Cape ranked fourth in the most domestic trips originating from the province and third in the number of domestic trips taken to the province.
Domestic trips originating from the Western Cape grew by 748% year-onyear and recovered by 72% on Q3 2019, while domestic trips during that period increased by 855% year-on-year (a recovery of 67% compared with Q3 2019).
Total domestic spend in the Western Cape reached R3.3-billion between July and September 2022. The province accounted for 15% of SA’s domestic spend and ranked in third position for the highest value in domestic expenditure among all provinces.
A World Travel & Tourism Council forecast said South Africa’s tourism growth would be driving the national economy over the next decade and create more than 800,000 jobs – growing at an average rate of 7.6% annually, which is significantly outstripping SA’s 1.8% growth rate.
By 2032, tourism is expected to contribute in excess of R554.6-billion to the economy and employ more than 1.9 million people.
International travel, it said, is still quite weak, even though it has improved somewhat, and the corporate market is yet to make a comeback. Southern Sun said this was because of the depressed local economy and businesses holding back on travel spend.
The corporate segment, in particular, has been the slowest to return to pre-Covid-19 levels, causing the inland region – specifically Gauteng – to lag behind other regions in terms of recovery.
City Lodge Hotels also reported rising occupancies, growing from 52% in July 2022 to 60% in November 2022. Average occupancy this financial year is 56.5%.
Based on current demand, City Lodge said it was optimistic that occupancy levels in December could exceed 2019’s.
Earlier this month, Sun International announced it was pumping R122-million into the GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World in Goodwood, Cape Town, with a phased roll-out of the revamped “grander” Grand Hotel, conference facilities and a shopping centre.
Barring the Covid lockdown, the fourstar Grand Hotel has operated at full capacity since it opened, with rooms booked well in advance, explained Mervyn Naidoo, the general manager of GrandWest. “This hotel has had 100% occupancy every single day. Granted, it’s only 39 rooms. We’ll be extending the hotel [by] 68 rooms. Most importantly, we will have the facilities that we always wanted.”
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis expressed enthusiasm for the project, one of the first big projects to get off the ground after the Covid pandemic.
“That is so important for us. Cape Town’s economy – more so than any other place in South Africa – is dependent on tourism, travel and entertainment. This has been a really difficult time for Cape Town, with tens of thousands of people having lost work in our city. Lots of small businesses in the travel, tourism, entertainment and hospitality space have not survived the past three years.”
During the high season between now and March 2023, there will be 191 direct flights into Cape Town every week, including 13 flights a week from the US, which has never happened before.