Tourism Month: SA markets domestic destinations

Launch of Tourism Month

Launching the Tourism Month this morning, Thursday, 1 September 2010, at the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens in Emmarentia, the National Department of Tourism says, given that the backbone of any successful tourism in any country lies in domestic tourism, the country will use the September month to highlight the importance of local travel.

The department also says the country spent close to R70 million over the last six years in domestic marketing, including TV, radio, print and outdoor advertising and events to promote domestic tourism. It says this significant investment reiterates the fact that the country is serious about strengthening domestic tourism as the foundation of the industry.

It is money well spent, indeed, seeing that those efforts have finally borne fruit, as the number of South Africans undertaking domestic trips has considerably increased in the past year.

Domestic tourism

On the one hand, statistics show that 14.6 million South Africans undertook about 30 million domestic trips - an increase of 0.43% on a year-on-year basis - spending a total annual of more than R22 million. A total of 75% of all tourist volumes in SA in 2009 was derived from domestic tourists, representing a contribution of 22% of total tourism revenues in the same year.

On the other hand, foreign arrivals also continue to grow, reaching more than 2.5 million from January to April 2010 - an increase of 16.3%, according to the department.

South African Tourism's ongoing Sho't Left campaign is specifically aimed at making travelling more accessible and affordable for all South Africans.

Focus on Limpopo

This year's Tourism Month marketing focus will be Limpopo province, the so-called lesser visited province. And in line with 'Tourism and Biodiversity', the theme for this year's World Tourism Day (27 September), SA Tourism CEO Thandiwe January-McLean urges all South Africans to take a Sho't Left to Limpopo, a place reportedly rich in biodiversity, natural conservation, beautiful scenery and rich culture.