Holidaymakers to South Africa are showing a positive upswing‚ with overseas tourists increasing by 18% in a year.
This is according to Statistics South Africa‚ which has released visitor numbers for September 2015-2016.
In September 2016‚ a total of 3‚416‚002 travellers (arrivals‚ departures and transits) passed through South Africa’s ports of entry. They were made up of 907‚552 South African residents and 2‚508‚450 foreign travellers. Foreign arrivals‚ 1‚273‚734‚ were made up of 82‚934 non-visitors and 1‚190‚800 visitors.
The visitors were broken down as follows:
- 397‚190 who arrived and departed on the same day‚ and
- 793‚610 who stayed overnight (tourists).
Tourists increased by 10‚7% from 716‚750 in September 2015.
They constituted overseas tourists‚ who increased by 18‚1% from 166‚053 in September 2015‚ and tourists from the Southern African Development Community region‚ who increased by 8‚7% from 534‚815 in September 2015.
In September 2016‚ the distribution of overseas tourists was: Europe‚ 107‚125 (54‚6%); North America‚
34‚827 (17‚8%); Asia‚ 28‚528 (14‚5%); Australasia‚ 14‚860 (7‚6%); Central and South America‚ 5‚906 (3‚0%) and
Middle East‚ 4‚852 (2‚5%).
The highest increase of overseas tourists‚ 28‚8%‚ was for tourists from The Netherlands (from 9‚168 in September 2015 to 11‚808 in September 2016)‚ followed by Germany‚ 25‚6% (from 18‚375 in September 2015 to 23‚085 in September 2016).
The highest increase of SADC tourists‚ 27‚7%‚ was for tourists from Lesotho (from 107 998 in September 2015 to 137 932 in September 2016)‚ followed by Malawi‚ 19‚1% (from 12 136 in September 2015 to 14 457 in September 2016).
Tourists from ‘other’ African countries increased by 3‚3% from 14‚810 in September 2015. The highest increase‚ 82‚4% was for tourists from Algeria (from 142 in September 2015 to 259 in September 2016‚ followed by Ethiopia‚ 40‚0% (from 613 in September 2015 to 858 in September 2016).
Overall‚ about three-quarters of tourists used road transport with 28‚3% using air transport‚ while a much smaller number‚ 0‚04%‚ used sea transport.
The majority of tourists‚ 767‚279 (96‚7%) were on holiday compared to 20‚400 (2‚6%) and 5‚931 (0‚7%) who came for business and for study purposes respectively.
Most tourists were male (55‚6%).
Big jump in tourists from Europe and America
Holidaymakers to South Africa are showing a positive upswing‚ with overseas tourists increasing by 18% in a year.
This is according to Statistics South Africa‚ which has released visitor numbers for September 2015-2016.
In September 2016‚ a total of 3‚416‚002 travellers (arrivals‚ departures and transits) passed through South Africa’s ports of entry. They were made up of 907‚552 South African residents and 2‚508‚450 foreign travellers. Foreign arrivals‚ 1‚273‚734‚ were made up of 82‚934 non-visitors and 1‚190‚800 visitors.
The visitors were broken down as follows:
- 397‚190 who arrived and departed on the same day‚ and
- 793‚610 who stayed overnight (tourists).
Tourists increased by 10‚7% from 716‚750 in September 2015.
They constituted overseas tourists‚ who increased by 18‚1% from 166‚053 in September 2015‚ and tourists from the Southern African Development Community region‚ who increased by 8‚7% from 534‚815 in September 2015.
In September 2016‚ the distribution of overseas tourists was: Europe‚ 107‚125 (54‚6%); North America‚
34‚827 (17‚8%); Asia‚ 28‚528 (14‚5%); Australasia‚ 14‚860 (7‚6%); Central and South America‚ 5‚906 (3‚0%) and
Middle East‚ 4‚852 (2‚5%).
The highest increase of overseas tourists‚ 28‚8%‚ was for tourists from The Netherlands (from 9‚168 in September 2015 to 11‚808 in September 2016)‚ followed by Germany‚ 25‚6% (from 18‚375 in September 2015 to 23‚085 in September 2016).
The highest increase of SADC tourists‚ 27‚7%‚ was for tourists from Lesotho (from 107 998 in September 2015 to 137 932 in September 2016)‚ followed by Malawi‚ 19‚1% (from 12 136 in September 2015 to 14 457 in September 2016).
Tourists from ‘other’ African countries increased by 3‚3% from 14‚810 in September 2015. The highest increase‚ 82‚4% was for tourists from Algeria (from 142 in September 2015 to 259 in September 2016‚ followed by Ethiopia‚ 40‚0% (from 613 in September 2015 to 858 in September 2016).
Overall‚ about three-quarters of tourists used road transport with 28‚3% using air transport‚ while a much smaller number‚ 0‚04%‚ used sea transport.
The majority of tourists‚ 767‚279 (96‚7%) were on holiday compared to 20‚400 (2‚6%) and 5‚931 (0‚7%) who came for business and for study purposes respectively.
Most tourists were male (55‚6%).