2016/17 State of Tourism report released

The Deptartment of Tourism has released the 2015/16 State of Tourism report, providing a holistic view of the environment that the sector operates in whilst taking into account the challenges and opportunities associated with external factors in the country.

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The report serves to inform government and industry decision-makers and businesses about the sector’s performance.

The State of Tourism Report was compiled using supply and demand tourism related statistics. The supply side indicators focus on key tourism-related products, which include, amongst others, the performance of the hotel industry, air travel and meetings industry. The demand performance provides an analysis of South Africa’s international and domestic tourism markets with a specific focus on travel volumes, tourist demographics, purpose of visit, seasonality and spending patterns. Secondary data was used for the development of this report.

The government continues to appreciate tourism as a sector that creates a positive image of the country, contributes to poverty alleviation through job creation, and encourages entrepreneurship and promotion of social cohesion.