Tourist accommodation rose in January

The survey is conducted monthly and covers a sample of public and private enterprises involved in the short-stay accommodation sector‚ with the results used to compile estimates of tourism and gross domestic product.

Stats SA said that income from accommodation only‚ increased by 8.8% year-on-year in January‚ the result of a 3.6% increase in the number of stay-unit nights sold and a 4.9% increase in the average income per stay-unit night sold.

Stats SA describes a stay-unit as a unit of accommodation available to be charged out to guests. Examples include a powered site in a caravan park or a hotel room.

The types of accommodation that recorded the highest year-on-year growth rates in income from accommodation in January were hotels (11.1%)‚ guest houses and guest farms (9.9%) and caravan parks and camping sites (9.6%).

The main contributor to the 8.8% year-on-year increase in income from accommodation in January was hotels‚ which contributed seven percentage points‚ followed by other accommodation‚ with a one percentage point contribution.

Income from accommodation rose by 5.8% in the three months ended January this year.