Tourism has been recovering strongly from the dark days of Covid-19 when nobody was allowed to go anywhere or have any fun, but the numbers are still below those of 2019 – except for Cape Town.

Figures show that tourism in the Western Cape, especially Cape Town, has recovered better than in the rest of SA and that the number of visitors has increased to above those of 2020.

Read: International tourists are back

According to the latest data from Statistics SA (Stats SA) nearly 4.1 million tourists visited SA in the first six months of 2023 – an increase of 78% compared to the first half of 2022 when fewer than 2.9 million foreigners visited SA.

The most recent survey gathering figures on tourist accommodation shows that these tourists are spending billions when visiting SA.

Stats SA’s survey on tourist accommodation shows that income generated by businesses offering accommodation increased to nearly R11 billion in the first five months of 2023. This is 42% higher than the R7.7 billion spend in the same period in 2022.

Then there is the expenditure on eating, drinking, sightseeing, car rental and leisure activities, generously dished out from wallets full of valuable dollars, euros and pounds.

Cape Town

The Western Cape region and Cape Town in particular remain the top destinations in SA.

Mireille Wenger, provincial minister of finance and economic opportunities for the Western Cape, says tourist arrivals to Cape Town exceed pre-pandemic levels during the first six months of 2023.

“The tourism sector continues to shine in the Western Cape with tourist arrivals via air to Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) in the first six months of 2023 exceeding pre-pandemic levels,” she says.

“In addition, international two-way passengers remained strong between January and June 2023, reaching 1.4 million, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 104% and growing by 76% year-on-year,” she says, quoting figures from the city’s monthly tourism report compiled by Wesgro, the Western Cape government’s official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency.

“The tourism and hospitality sector continues to show remarkable resilience and growth in the Western Cape and is cause for celebration. Despite suffering greatly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to see that we have moved beyond recovery and into growth, contributing to job creation in the province.”

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The report notes that 3.2 million domestic passengers passed through the airport between January and June 2023, representing year-on-year growth of 9%, while two-way passenger numbers through George Airport reached 374 463 between January and June 2023. This is some 3% higher than a year ago.

Wenger points out that most of the visitors who arrive in Cape Town by air come from abroad. “Between January and June 2023, 90% of tourist arrivals via air originated from overseas markets and 10% from the African continent.

“The United Kingdom led as the top source market to Cape Town, closely followed by the USA, Germany, Netherlands and France,” she says.

“The European market remains the largest contributor to tourist arrivals into Cape Town, with six out of the top 10 markets for tourists originating from the continent.”

Attractions

Wesgro also tracks the number of visitors to several tourist attractions in the Western Cape. Figures collected from 24 attractions across six regions of the province show that 271 653 people visited in June 2023, some 16% more than in June 2022. However, this was still only 65% of the number of visitors recorded in June 2019, before the Covid pandemic.

The attractions that recorded the highest growth in visitor numbers were the Cape Agulhas Lighthouse (92%), Table Mountain National Park: Boulders (61%), Bontebok National Park (60%), Cango Caves (42%) and Table Mountain National Park: Cape of Good Hope (36%).

Wenger says that attracting more tourists is a focus of the Western Cape government’s economic action plan ‘Growth For Jobs’.

Read/listen: ‘Designate tourism special economic zones’ to boost investment – TBCSA

“More tourists mean more jobs. Recently this objective has received an impressive boost with great publicity generated by our stunning vineyards which featured in the world’s best,” says Wenger.

“Working with tour stakeholders, including the private sector, we will continue to ensure that the Western Cape remains top of mind for both international and domestic tourists,” she says.

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Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille says the increase in foreign tourists to more than four million arrivals in the first half of 2023 reflected a strong recovery. “This is a significant increase from the 2.3 million tourist arrivals between January and June 2022. There has also been a substantial increase across all regions in the same period,” she says.

However, De Lille points out that national figures are still below those of 2019. “Although the current growth demonstrates signs of recovery, we are still operating at 80% of our pre-pandemic capacity.

“In 2019, SA welcomed more than five million tourists between January and June,” she says.

By contrast, the disastrous first half of 2020 saw arrivals falling to just one million as only a few thousand foreigners visited SA during April, May and June 2020.

Africa

De Lille says the African continent continues to bring the largest share of tourist arrivals to the country, with more than three million tourists arriving in SA between January and June 2023.

“This is a 79.9% increase when compared to the same period last year when SA welcomed 1.7 million visitors from Africa.

“Africa land arrivals increased by a significant 81.6% while Africa air recorded a growth of 44.5% between January to June this year when compared to the same period last year.

“We are pleased with the number of visitors that our country continues to receive from the rest of the African continent. This is a testament to the marketing efforts that we have implemented to attract tourists from this region.

“Africa remains a key source market for us and we are committed to collaborating as a tourism sector to make sure we welcome visitors from this region and that we cater for their needs and preferences,” says De Lille.

She says SA has attracted more visitors from other regions too. “Between January and June 2023, the Australasia region (mainly comprised of Australia and New Zealand) recorded an increase of 141% with 50 882 visitors coming from this region compared to 21 108 arrivals in the same period last year.

“The Asia region almost doubled its figures with a 99.5% growth, from 47 912 to 95 596 visitors. Europe, the largest source of visitors outside Africa, also experienced solid growth of 66.8%, from 356 352 to 594 388 visitors when compared to the same period in 2022.

“North America, Central and South America and the Middle East also demonstrated strong growth trends with rates of 70.6%, 74.4%, and 75.8% respectively.

“These robust figures showcase SA’s charm and attractiveness, as well as the work that we are doing in marketing SA as a tourist destination of choice. The substantial increase, particularly from Australasia and Asia, underlines and reflects the global trend towards post-pandemic travel recovery,” says De Lille.

“This is all hugely welcomed because our sector contributes significantly to our country’s economy. Through various tourism marketing strategies, SA continues to invite travellers worldwide to explore our diverse landscapes, rich cultural heritage, unique wildlife and wide open spaces.

“These exceptional numbers illustrate South Africa’s undeniable allure and the enduring impact it has on travellers,” she adds.

Read/listen: Let’s get to over 21m tourist arrivals before 2030 – De Lille

“South Africa is open for tourism, and we are ready to welcome more tourists from across Africa and the globe to experience our diverse cultures and heritage. SA was recently honoured by readers of the UK’s Telegraph Travel publication, with the prestigious title of Best Country (to visit), while Cape Town claimed the coveted title of Best City in the World.”

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