SA Tourism CEO: Europe and US travellers still see SA as their preferred destination

As South Africa enters its tourism month in September, the industry is seeing an influx of tourists from the United States of America. 
 
South African Tourism CEO Themba Khumalo said the Americans are making big numbers compared to other countries in Europe. 
 
Khumalo stated that the influx can be credited to the Covid-19 lockdown regulations that were gradually eased around the globe which ended two years of the devastating pandemic. 
 
EWN posted that the industry was hardest hit as the world was devastated by regulations, especially those pertaining to travelling in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. 
 
“The tourism industry is most definitely back, and we are seeing a lot of growth in the domestic market and international arrivals, especially out of Europe and the United States of America coming into South Africa,” Khumalo told the radio station. 
 
“South Africa is a high-demand destination out of the US and Europe because of our wide-open spaces and world-class infrastructure. The spending per traveller domestically and regionally has actually increased to show that people are really eager to travel.” 
 
As the CEO said that South Africa was one of the most preferred destinations to travel in the world, SA welcomed close to 570, 000 overseas visitors in the first half of 2022. 
 
The number means the country has registered more than four times the number recorded during the same period in the year prior, according to Statistics South Africa’s Tourism and Migration data. 
 
Business Insider reports that the focus for tourism sectors the world over, including South Africa’s, is on arrivals and foreign spending recovering to pre-pandemic levels. 
 
“And although South Africa is on the right track as the numbers reveal, it’s still got a long way to go. Overseas arrivals between January and June this year were at 45% of levels seen during the same period in 2019,” said the website. 
 
“Tourists from the United Kingdom (UK), US, Germany, France, and the Netherlands have traditionally been South Africa’s most valued. These five countries have consistently ranked as South Africa’s top tourism source markets.” 
 
Main Image: South African Tourism/Tourism Update