Brits on the way back

IN

an ambitious bid to attract five million additional visitors by 2021, South Africa’s government has embarked on a campaign to highlight the country as a value-formoney destination that has plenty to offer beyond the traditional tourist routes and seasons.

Tourism figures out of the UK and Ireland have slowed down over the past 12 months. Reasons cited for the drop include the ‘Day Zero’ messages on Cape Town running out of water and uncertainty over Brexit.

However, Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom says he believed UK interest is in a ‘holding pattern’ rather than a period of permanent decline. “We think that our UK and Ireland visitors have simply put South Africa ‘ on hold’ this year....but we are still confident we will meet our target of 5% growth on the almost 45,000 visitors that arrived in 2017,” he said.

“We want to reassure visitors that Cape Town is open for business following its worst drought on record. Water supplies are back to near normal levels.”

Africa’s Travel Indaba, hosted by South African Tourism (SAT) attracted over 6000 exhibitors, buyers, visitors and media from 80 countries.