Tourism is making a strong comeback, Ramaphosa says

Figures for tourist arrivals show the industry is making a strong and sustained comeback, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.

After the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to the local tourism industry, statistics from Stats SA and South African Tourism show about 5.7-million visitors arrived in the country last year, the president said.

“This was an increase of more than 150% on the previous year. In the first quarter of this year, we received just over 2-million visitors, more than twice as many compared to the same period in 2022,” said Ramaphosa.

Though tourist arrivals are not yet at pre-pandemic levels, the latest figures show a significant and rapid recovery is under way, the president said in his weekly newsletter.

“This is taking place in the midst of heightened political and economic uncertainty across the world and particular challenges, especially around electricity supply, here at home. Yet, despite these difficult conditions, visitors see SA as an attractive destination with unparalleled natural beauty, warm and hospitable people and good value,” he said.

“Not only are we seeing more tourists coming to our shores, they are also spending more during their visits, or more than R25bn in the first quarter of 2023. This is a valuable stream of foreign exchange, sustaining and creating jobs and enabling further investment in our tourism infrastructure,” he said.

Most visitors to SA in 2022, about 4-million, were from Africa, he said.

Ramaphosa said the importance of growing tourism for the economy motivated the determination to forge ahead with the process of immigration reform to improve competitiveness as a tourism destination. 

“At this year’s fifth SA Investment Conference, I announced we will be expanding the e-Visa system from the 14 countries in which it operates to include an additional 20 countries. There are obviously linkages between tourists visiting a country and potential future trade and investment,” he said.

Ramaphosa said the department of home affairs published its visa reform implementation plan which will help boost tourism and attract investment, adding the recovery of SA’s aviation sector is also supporting tourism growth. 

“SAA is expanding into ever more markets on the continent, and we are seeing the resumption of direct flights from major destinations. By way of example, Air China has resumed direct flights to SA, and United Airlines flies directly to New York and Washington DC. 

“The latest tourism figures are very encouraging and should strengthen our resolve to ensure tourism becomes one of the biggest drivers of our economic recovery.”

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