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South African tourism has experienced growth despite the slowdown in the global economy.
Speaking in East London on Wednesday, Tourism Minister Martinus van Schalkwyk said this growth could be attributed to a great partnership between government and business to promote the tourism sector.
He says that while world-wide tourism growth was at five percent, South Africa has seen tourism growth of around 10.5 percent while tourism spend is at an all time high, even higher than the 2010 World Cup.
"The state of travel and tourism globally looks fairly 'optimistic', especially amidst the global economic slowdown. But in South Africa, the picture of the tourism sector is without a doubt optimistic," he said.
Van Schalkwyk said South Africa recently reported excellent results for the first few months of 2012 with tourist arrivals increasing by an overall 10,5% year-on-year during the first quarter, and overseas arrivals increased by nearly 18%.
"These statistics should be compared and understood within the context of global tourist arrival growth, which was at 5,4% during the first four months of 2012. The latest Statistics SA accommodation figures also underscored this positive trend: Total income for the accommodation industry for the second quarter of 2012 increased by 11,2%," he said.
