By Simon Nare
South African Tourism has identified crime and access to flights as two major areas that need to be addressed in order to arrest the declining numbers of international tourists arriving on our shores.
The entity’s leaders told the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Tourism that these areas were already receiving attention.
SA Tourism CEO Nombulelo Guliwe said international arrivals decreased by 17% in 2023.
Guliwe told the committee this was below the 2019 arrival figure and 12% below the global average.
MPs wanted to know what was being done to increase flights to the country and how the entity planned to boost domestic tourism numbers.
“Airlift is a material issue when it comes to conversions to arrivals in South Africa and that is why it is being addressed at the highest levels.
“We also have air access provincial committees in provinces where we have international airports. We engage with them about route development to get more tourists into South Africa,” Guliwe said.
The entity was also working with the aviation sector to get more airlines into South Africa.
On the issue of crime, Guliwe told the committee that safety and security challenges were receiving attention through tourism safety monitors.
“We are aware that we do not have full coverage yet, but we will increase numbers in major tourist attractions subject to funding,” she told the committee.
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has raised the issue of crime deterring visitors on several occasions, but also stressed that this was receiving attention.’
Tabling her budget in the National Assembly recently, De Lille said marketing South Africa as a tourist destination of choice would be a key focus of the department, and this would receive the substantial chunk of the R2.3 billion budget allocation for the 2024/2025 financial year.
Guliwe said that despite the number of international arrivals dropping, the total direct spend in 2023 was higher than the 2017, which recorded R95 billion compared to R81 billion in 2019.
According to SAT figures for 2023, the most tourist total foreign direct spend exceeded 2019 levels by 17.3%, reaching R95 billion compared to R81 billion.
She said this could be attributed to what she called robust resurgence of domestic tourism.
Last year there was a total of 38 million domestic overnight trips taken by locals, marking an 11.3% increase from 2022.
De Lille has hailed the increase in local trips.
“This surge in domestic tourism highlights the critical role domestic travelers play in sustaining our industry. As I have always said, domestic tourism is the bedrock of our sector.
“We are committed to working closely with all our partners, in the tourism value chain, to make travel more affordable and accessible for all South Africans. Our domestic market is a powerhouse within the tourism sector.”
Guliwe has undertaken to ensure that the entity compiles a comprehensive report on the state of tourism.
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