By Simon Nare
South Africa is ranked highest on the African continent as a country whose travel and tourism sector has recorded robust growth.
This is according to the 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index of the World Economic Forum released this week.
South Africa ranked 55th out of 119 countries globally. Last year the country welcomed nearly 8.5 million international visitors – 6.4million of whom were from within the continent. That represented a significant increase of 48.9% compared to the 2022 numbers.
In the first quarter of 2024, South African welcomed 2.4million visitors from the rest of the world. This represents a 15.4% increase compared with the same period in 2023.
The latest ranking means the country has moved seven places up from the previous year.It also means that the country scored high as far as price competitiveness, natural resources and socio-economic impact is concerned.
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said the news came at a time when the country was making headway with a rapid recovery and efforts to enhance tourism growth.
“The TTDI findings reveal that South Africa is home to the largest Travel and Tourism Economy in Africa.
“We are extremely pleased with this ranking as it affirms our commitment and work to elevate the significance and contribution of the tourism sector in South Africa,” said de Lille.
The minister said the sector has achieved the growth due to close partnerships and collaborations with the private sector that would help to grow tourism to its full potential.
“We are delighted by the growth and our mission remains to exponentially grow arrival numbers and the overall performance of the tourism sector. The sector already makes a significant contribution to South Africa’s GDP and job creation efforts but there is still so much more to be donet,” she said.
De Lille thanked the tourism private sector for it’s contribution and said the country’s greatest asset is its people.
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