Latest Tourism Figures For April 2010 - 2011

The latest figures for tourists entering South Africa have just been released by Stats SA.  The figures below are those that showed the larger % growth year on year.




Country      2011       2010        Increase
Germany:     18,626    10,695    +74.2%
UK:               40,301    30,176    +33.6%
Norway:         1,959           882    +122.1%
Switzerland :  3,311      2,226      +48.7%
Russian Fed:      861       556      +54.9%
Portugal:       4,236        2,732      +55.1%
Hungary:          231           147      +57.1%
Denmark:     1,808        1,058      +70.9%
Austria:         1,687           988      +70.7%
Argentina:        865           598      +44.6%
Mexico:           308            214      +43.9%
India:             7,193        4,498      +59.9%
Japan:           2,017        1,380      +46.2%
Malaysia:         833            415      +100.7%
Philippines:      789           394      +100.3%
Turkey:              952           533       +78.6%

Overseas Total: 172,145     128,773     +33.7%

Cape Looks East To Tackle Global Tourism Slump

Awakening global economic giants China and India are sending more and more tourists to Cape Town, a sign that dramatic changes are happening to the Cape’s traditional visitor demographics, experts say.

Tourism authorities have detailed extensive plans to market Cape Town to the world, to help pull the city and province out of a worldwide slump.

The Cape Argus reported last week that many in the Cape’s crucial industry were speaking openly of a “crisis”, because of low occupancy rates in accommodation establishments, and a similar drop in trading across the industry.

But provincial Tourism MEC Alan Winde, Cape Town Tourism head Mariette du Toit Helmbold and Accelerate Cape Town head Guy Lundy have revealed extensive plans to bring more visitors to the Mother City.

Among these are innovative ways of bringing Gautengers to Cape Town, renewed efforts to attract the Cape’s traditional markets in Europe – despite their economic woes – and dramatic increases in the number of tourists from the “new” markets of China, India and Brazil.

Winde said the Western Cape would be promoted at key trade shows in Brazil and Argentina later this year. “If one analyses the statistics for the first quarter in these markets, it is clear the Western Cape is hitting the right target.”

In 2009, there were 26 975 visitors to the province. This increased to 41 532 last year, an increase of 54 percent.

Arrivals from India to the Western Cape grew from 14 960 in 2009 to 19 543 last year, a 30.6 percent increase.

One of the star markets for that period, Brazil, grew from 15 580 visitors in 2009 to 26 340 last year, a 69.1 percent rise.

Source: Argus

Knysna Tourism Invites Stakeholders To Marketing Presentation

Knysna Tourism will host a discussion on South African tourism market trends, presented by Professor John Simpson from the UCT Unilever Institute.

Simpson is co-author of ‘Marketing in South Africa: Cases and Concepts’ and Director of the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing.

Knysna Tourism CEO, Shaun van Eck, says participants will get to the core of the factors changing the consumer environment. “Attendees will also hear how all new expert research will help to refocus their businesses to meet the challenges facing the new South African marketplace, including latest trends in the emerging black diamond market.

“This is obviously a market that we would like to welcome to Knysna,” said Van Eck. “And attending this discussion will give tourism operators and anyone who works within the industry a better insight into reaching this market and communicating with them effectively.”

The discussion will take place at The Premier Hotel on George Rex Drive in Knysna at 11h00, on Tuesday, August 16. Entrance is free but interested parties need to RSVP to Janine Arendse at the Knysna Tourism office at +27 (0)44 382 5510.

Cosatu Joins ‘Tourism Crisis’ Debate

Cosatu (The Congress of South African Trade Unions) has called for urgent action to address the “crisis in tourism” and has said an investigation should be conducted into the implications of regulating the industry.

In a media statement, Cosatu Western Cape Provincial Secretary, Tony Ehrenreich, says the cause of the crisis is the overcharging of international tourists. “The exorbitant prices for wines and crayfish are contributing to visitors feeling ripped off,” he says. “And so the important word of mouth that underlies a tourist destination’s success is not assisting the South African industry.”

The statement goes on to accuse the Western Cape MEC of Economics, Alan Winde, of excluding workers from the tourism board. “As Cosatu we will insist that the workers’ interests be directly represented by a labour representative, before the funding to support the industry is released. We will further call for an independent body to examine the crisis, as the industrial players have been colluding with government at a local level. This collusion is demonstrated by the City Council giving the tourism industry R40 million to spend on themselves,” says Ehrenreich.

Source: SA Tourism Update

Just goes to show that you don't have to have an inkling of what the situation entails. My heart goes out to Alan Winde and all those who strive to reverse this economic black hole and build up tourism in our towns and cities countrywide. Dave

South Africa Proclaims Another Biosphere

South Africa added a sixth biosphere reserve to its tally when the Vhembe region of Limpopo province became one of 22 newly proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

South Africa's six biosphere sites are Kogelberg (added in 1998), Cape Winelands (2007), Cape West Coast Reserve (2000, with an extension in 2003), the Waterberg (2001), the Kruger to Canyons Reserve (2001), and Vhembe. This is a tshiVenda name for the mighty Limpopo River symbolising life.

The new addition is situated in the northeast of Limpopo province. It is famous not only for its bird and animal life, but also for its rich cultural history, dating far back to the awe-inspiring rock paintings of the San people. Vhembe encompasses the ancient African kingdoms of Thulamela and Mapungubwe. The latter is one of South Africa's eight world heritage sites and was inscribed on the Unesco list in 2003.

Vhembe includes the northern part of the Kruger Park, the Makuleke Wetlands, which are protected under the international Ramsar Convention, the Soutpansberg and Blouberg bio-diversity hot spots, and the Makgabeng Plateau, which boasts hundreds of rock art sites.

SAT Sponsors Online Textbook For E Tourism Africa Summit

South African Tourism (SAT) recently announced the sponsorship of an online tourism textbook for the South African market. The ‘E Tourism Frontier’s Guide to Online Tourism – the South African Edition’ will be published in September and given to all delegates attending the E Tourism Africa Summit taking place in Cape Town on September 15 and 16.

SAT is sponsoring the fourth E Tourism Africa Summit, along with Cape Town Tourism as the host city for the summit. It will feature some of the world’s leading experts in online tourism, including TripAdvisor, Expedia and Google.

William Price, global head of e-marketing at SAT, says the role and significance of online marketing and consumer engagement have become critical in destination marketing. “It’s not enough for us to merely sponsor events. We have decided to invest more heavily in the E-Tourism Africa Summit by sharing a tangible and useful resource with the industry. The E-Tourism Frontier’s Guide to Online Tourism is a great resource and offers easy-to-follow tips and excellent local examples of tourism businesses using and benefiting from online marketing,” says Price.

The author of the new textbook, Damian Cook, is the CEO and Founder of E Tourism Frontiers and a global expert on online tourism.

Says Cook: “Our industry needs to focus not just on their own marketing but to encourage their clientele to market for them via social media. Some 50% of travellers now read a review before booking a hotel or trip for a long-haul destination and this is especially relevant for travel to Africa. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are vital tools when researching travel. However, only a small number of tourism companies are really accessing and using these tools to their full potential. The textbook is designed to show South African tourism businesses how to do just that.”
Source: SA Tourism Update

Hermanus Wine & Food Fair Nominated For Top Ten

The Hermanus Wine & Food Fair was nominated as one of the 10 best wine festivals in South Africa! 50 Local wineries from Elgin to Elim will present their wines for tasting, not forgetting delectable fares from various cheese and olive farms amongst others, as well as the famous Sushi of The Harbour Rock. All the wines on tasting will be available for purchasing at the Wine Village during the festival at cellar prices.


This year's festival will take place from Saturday, 06 August to Monday, 08 August and looks to be an even greater success.

Do not miss the opportunity to taste and pay for your favourite wines and fill up your wine racks! This is the only Wine and Food Fair in South African where you are able to purchase the wines tasted and either take them home immediately or have them shipped home anywhere in the world. What utter convenience!

Come and enjoy more than 200 wines from the various wine estates, olive products, glorious cheese, and loads of speciality food stalls.