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Tourism in South Africa: Land and Sky
A Doorway To Cultural Heritage and Inclusivity
By Shumirai Chimombe
September is Tourism Month in South Africa during which the country spotlights the importance of the sector’s contribution to the economy, and showcases the plethora of tourism offerings available to domestic and international visitors in all the nine provinces.
The theme this year is “Tourism and Peace - 30 years of connecting people, places and culture” as a celebration of the country’s diverse cultural and historical heritage that continues to foster peace in South Africa and makes the country a preferred holiday destination.
It is an extension of the annual World Tourism Day on 27 September - a UN Tourism initiative that underscores the tourism sector’s pivotal role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. The global theme for this year is “Tourism and Peace” to highlight how travel, cultural exchange and sustainable tourism practices can contribute to conflict resolution, reconciliation, and the promotion of peace worldwide.
Speaking at the Tourism Month media launch held in Kimberley in the Northern Cape on 20 August, Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille explained that over the past three decades, South Africa has intensified its efforts in not only identifying but ensuring that tourism is one of the priority sectors that contribute to the economy and to job creation.
“This year’s Tourism Month celebrations provide the perfect opportunity for us to celebrate tourism’s huge contribution to global development, cultural exchange, people connection and of course exploration of the many vast places that are found in our country.”
Looking To The Skies and To The People: Astro-Tourism
“50% of the world’s population cannot see the beauty of the night sky but the African sky still remains at an advantage, by having the clearest and darkest night sky.” - Patricia de Lille, Minister of Tourism. In a groundbreaking initiative to highlight the country’s cultural heritage and inclusivity, the national Department of Tourism, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) has launched the National Astro -Tourism Strategy as part of national Tourism Month.
The country boasts several unique advantages that make it an ideal astro-tourism destination. These include minimal light pollution, favourable weather conditions, the Southern sky advantage, and four of the world’s best-preserved meteorite impact craters.
Furthemore, the Northern Cape hosts two of the world’s s most significant astronomy initiatives, the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) which is the largest optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere; and MeerKAT, a cutting-edge radio telescope array which will be part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, soon to be the world’s most powerful radio telescope. These projects present superb opportunities to transform the region into a premier destination for stargazers and space enthusiasts.
Minister de Lille explained that the astro-tourism strategy will be built on three pillars - to focus on indigenous celestial narratives and human capacity development; to drive infrastructure development, and to promote and facilitate inclusive tourism growth and partnerships.
“We are here to cast the spotlight on these experiences and more and to invite South Africans, and indeed visitors from the rest of the world to come explore this province and to engage with living cultures and traditions that continue to thrive here in the Northern Cape. We want to use the SKA and Astro Tourism as a catalyst to develop the Karoo and provide opportunities for rural tourism as well as agri-tourism to develop rural areas further.
This gives us the legacy of mutual understanding between the astronomy significance and the indigenous celestial narratives, enhancing the synergy between humans and conservation and a creative link between our origins of life on earth and the origins of the universe.”
Looking To The Landscapes - Biodiversity Tourism
In July, Stats SA released a first of its kind Experimental Biodiversity-Based Tourism Estimates for South Africa, 2013 to 2019 which paints a picture of this sector’s contribution to economic activity, employment and tourism spend.
Biodiversity tourism involves visiting and enjoying any of South Africa’s biodiversity assets for recreation such as game parks, nature reserves, game parks or visiting the coast. The sector includes tourism activities linked to South Africa’s natural ecosystems and indigenous species.
The contribution of biodiversitybased tourism to the tourism sector’s direct GDP was highest in 2013 (15,4%), declining to 12,8% in 2018 before rising to 13,3% in 2019.
In terms of national GDP, biodiversitybased tourism contributed 0,5% to South Africa’s economy in 2019. Biodiversity-based tourism accounted for 11,8% of jobs in the tourism sector in 2019 (Figure 3). In the period 2013–2019, the contribution of biodiversity-based tourism to overall tourism employment was the highest in 2013, declining to a low in 2019.
The rise in direct biodiversity-based tourism employment between 2018 and 2019 is in line with the sharp increase in overall direct tourism employment. The findings in the estimates are in line with growing demand for cultural tourism that preserves South African heritage and provides economic opportunities for local communities, while promoting responsible and sustainable tourism through the preservation of our natural assets.
South Africa’s Tourism Sector Continues to Grow and Attract International arrivals from All Over The World.
The latest official release of international arrival figures by Statistics South Africa for January to March 2024 shows the following number compared with the same period in 2023:
2.4 million representing a 15.4% increase
1.8 million from the rest of Africa marking a significant 74.5% of all arrivals
Zimbabwe and Ghana stood out for their remarkable growth, with Zimbabwe experiencing a 21.8% increase totalling 613 675 arrivals, while Ghana recorded a 249.4% increase, reaching 7 904
118 194 from the Americas reflecting a 12.4% growth
420 727 from Europe, an 8.6% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
49 741 from Asia representing an astounding 25.4% increase
European markets: The UK remains the top European source market, with 125 420 arrivals making a 5.3% growth; Germany experienced a 9.9% increase in arrivals amounting to 98 954 tourists; The Netherlands increased by 9.9% amounting to 37 548 tourist arrivals and Russia exhibited a dramatic growth of 9.6% with 9 329 arrivals
Asia markets: 16 209 tourists from India which is 0.9% lower compared to 2023 and 11 017 visitors from China, registering an 82% increase.
Middle East arrivals: 2 387 arrivals from Saudi Arabia marking an increase of 31.7%, 321 from the United Arab Emirates
