Fewer visiting from overseas, but encouraging signs

TOURISM data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) showed a

1.5 percent drop in overseas visitor numbers last year, even though UN World Tourism Organisation data indicated global tourism grew by 6 percent.

The poor overseas tourism growth for South Africa, however, should have been offset by the new Maputokatembe bridge, which makes it easier for Mozambican tourists to visit Kwazulu-natal (KZN), as well as the introduction of a direct flight between Durban and London three times a week by British Airways last October.

King Shaka International Airport and KZN tourism operators are enjoying more international traffic, as shown by the year-on-year (y/y) acceleration in international arrivals of 15.2 percent in January, according to Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) data, from 14.6 percent in December, 13.8 percent in November and 4.6 percent in October.

Part of the reason for the poor performance in the overseas tourism market is that the rand is now worth more than it was in 2017. By comparison, Turkey is cheaper since its lira has dropped relative to European currencies. This is reflected in the 21.8 percent surge in tourists to Turkey last year to 39.5million.

Being part of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA) grouping will enable SA to leverage its attractions, but for this to happen an increase in air-lift capacity is needed as there are currently no direct air links between Durban and the other BRICS member countries.

The Maputo-katembe bridge is part of the AU objective to make it easier to travel across Africa and in the process promote tourism and commerce.

Construction began in 2014 and the bridge was officially opened on November 10, 2018. It reduces the travel time from the Kosi Bay border post in KZN to Maputo from six hours to 90 minutes.

In the same way that the Midlands Meander promotes tourism in the KZN Midlands for travellers between KZN and Gauteng, a new KZN Northern Corridor will promote tourism between KZN, eswatini and Mozambique since an increase in traffic makes it economically viable to build tourism infrastructure such as lodges, service stations and retail centres.

The recent increase in fuel prices, however, will curb some of the enthusiasm of tourism operators, as weekend visitors are sensitive to rises in fuel costs and tend to look for accommodation that is only two hours’ travel time away rather than four to six – which could have an impact on KZN tourism in the future.