S.A's tourism competitiveness declined in 2010, according to the fourth Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Factors influencing our position are diverse and a few are listed here:
SA is ranked 14th for its natural resources and 55th for its cultural resources. Despite the buzz in the industry that SA is overpriced, we continue to fare well in terms of price competitiveness, ranking 37th.
The report says infrastructure is also well developed for the region, with air transport infrastructure ranked 43rd and a particularly good assessment of railroad quality (47th) and road quality (43rd). “Overall, policy rules and regulations are conducive to the sector’s development (ranked 31st); this is an area where the country has improved since the last assessment, with well-protected property rights and few visa requirements for visitors,” says the report. “Indeed, in 2010 the government selected tourism as one of the five priority sectors in its growth plan and has been reviewing tourism legislation in an effort to streamline it further.”
The report says infrastructure is also well developed for the region, with air transport infrastructure ranked 43rd and a particularly good assessment of railroad quality (47th) and road quality (43rd). “Overall, policy rules and regulations are conducive to the sector’s development (ranked 31st); this is an area where the country has improved since the last assessment, with well-protected property rights and few visa requirements for visitors,” says the report. “Indeed, in 2010 the government selected tourism as one of the five priority sectors in its growth plan and has been reviewing tourism legislation in an effort to streamline it further.”
But some areas of weakness have brought down SA’s overall ranking. “Safety and security remains of serious concern (ranked 129th), as is the level of health and hygiene, where SA is ranked 88th as a result of its low physician density and concerns about access to improved sanitation in particular,” says the WEF report.
Top 10 countries in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index:
1. Switzerland
2. Germany
3. France
4. Austria
5. Sweden
6. United States
7. United Kingdom
8. Spain
9. Canada
10. Singapore
Source: SA Tourism Update
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