Statistics South Africa on Monday released the Domestic Tourism Survey 2016 report which showed a pattern of decline in domestic tourism over the past two years.
Statistician General, Pali Lehohla, said that the total number of day trips decreased from 44.3 million in 2015 to 39.4 million in 2016.
“Overnight trips decreased from 45.4 million in 2015 to 43.0 million in 2016. The report further indicates that the highest numbers of trips were generated in December when compared to other months within the reference period,” he said.
Lehohla said however that actual total expenditure on domestic overnight trips increased from R62 billion in 2015 to R63 billion in 2016.
“A different pattern was seen in day trips with a decrease in expenditure from R25 billion in 2015 to R23 billion in 2016,” he said.
“This increase in expenditure between 2015 and 2016 on overnight trips was largely driven by increased spending in the higher living standard measure subgroup (LSM 8–10), as individuals and households from the lower living standard measure groupings were significantly less likely to travel in 2016 than in 2015,” Lehohla added.
Gauteng, Limpopo and Western Cape were the most popular destinations for day travelers. Tourists (overnight travelers) mostly preferred visiting Limpopo, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.
“Most tourists undertook overnight trips mainly to visit friends and relatives and preferred using taxi (above 50%). Most tourists used unpaid accommodation and stayed with friends and relatives,” said Lehohla.
