Visa reports high interest in SA

As South Africa prepares for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, international travellers are already indicating a desire to visit the republic. Both international arrivals and spending by international Visa cardholders were up last year compared with the year prior. In 2008, international arrivals increased 5.5 percent with 9.5 million visitors compared to 9.1 million in 2007.

In 2008, the Visa network saw increased transaction volume and total number of transactions by international visitors in South Africa. More than 13 million transactions were made by international visitors on their Visa cards, up 11 percent from 2007 and representing USD1.8 billion in tourism revenues.

Europe and US prevalent

The prevalence of European and American travellers is consistent with key trends in Visa card spending; in 2008, nearly half of transaction volume from international visitors to South Africa was from US and UK cardholders who contributed over USD812 million to the South African economy. Germany, France and Australia were significant contributors to South Africa inbound tourism in 2008 as well as in 2007.

In 2009, these trends are continuing. Through the first quarter of 2009, international Visa cardholders spent approximately USD500 million in South Africa, which is roughly equal to spending over the same period last year. One area of notable increase is from visitors from Mozambique, which accounted for USD21 million - a 160 percent increase over the first half of 2008.

While South Africa has been a popular African tourism destination of late, traveller interest in the nation has increased as the 11 June kick-off date of the 2010 FIFA World Cup approaches.

2010 an opportunity

“The 2010 FIFA World Cup will provide a significant opportunity to position South Africa as a desirable leisure destination. As travellers are discerning in their choice of destinations and time of year for travel, Visa's insight into tourist behaviour and attitudes in South Africa and globally can support the tourism providers in capturing tourism revenues” said Charles Niehaus, MD of Visa sub-Saharan Africa. “Visa is committed to providing a reliable global payment acceptance network for our cardholders. Visa is similarly dedicated to supporting state and local governments in their efforts to grow tourism revenues by providing tourism data and insights that show where and how visitors spend their money,” he continued.

In addition to actual Visa card spend by international visitors into South Africa, the Visa Tourism Outlook survey evaluated travel intentions and attitudes among 5539 travellers from 11 nations who have travelled internationally in the past two years. According to Visa's survey of international travellers, one in three are likely to visit South Africa in the future, and there is broad awareness of the many assets South Africa has to offer - from rich local culture to natural beauty and interesting things to do - from visiting beaches to safari.

2010 interest

According to the Visa International tourism survey, 14 percent of respondents said they are likely to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Respondents from across the globe are interested in attending the World Cup, with the most interest coming from Brazil (46 percent), China (31 percent), South Korea (12 percent), Mexico (11 percent), Russia (11 percent) and the US (9 percent).

The majority of respondents who are likely to attend the World Cup are also interested in visiting other parts of South Africa. While in South Africa, those who plan on attending are interested in taking part in other experiences as well as watching the World Cup matches. Sixty-one percent of respondents said they would be interested in going on a safari, while others were interested in visiting key landmarks (54 percent) and a beach holiday in Cape Town or along the Garden Route (45 percent).

Retail Purchases Top

Over the past two years, retail purchases continued to account for the largest share of tourism spend on Visa cards in South Africa, followed by lodging. General retail purchases, such as clothing and food, represented 49 percent of Visa transactions by international travellers within South Africa in 2008, totalling more than USD892 million. Lodging also continues to be a major expenditure for international travellers, representing 13 percent of Visa transaction volume in 2008.