According to the Ministry of Tourism, September is Tourism Month.

 According to Stats SA data December or January might be a better choice. That is when we hit our peak in the number of foreign arrivals.

Note that the chart counts arrivals, not people. It is possible for the same person to cross the border several times in a reporting period. 

Tourists

In Stats SA’s statistics, an overnight visitor counts as a tourist. Under the definition used by Stats SA, a visitor is in turn someone who has not entered South Africa principally to work for pay within the country. Contrary to expectations, South Africa’s largest source of tourists is not Germany, the UK or the United States. It is Zimbabwe, followed by Mozambique and Lesotho.

Over 97% of tourists report the purpose of their visit as ‘holiday’ broadly defined to include visiting friends and family, shopping and other personal reasons.

Of course, the data tells us how journeys were classified at the border, not necessarily their true economic purpose – and there may be an obvious incentive not to disclose that purpose fully. 

SADC

Clearly, a very large part of what South Africa records as international tourism is, in reality, regional movement across the borders of southern Africa. Movement that is economic, social and familial as much as recreational. That broad pattern has persisted, notwithstanding the increasingly hostile reception afforded to many migrants from elsewhere in the region.

Another important factor facilitating the dominance of SADC countries in South African tourism statistics, is accessibility. A large portion of SADC tourists are arriving via roads.

Overseas

The overseas data provides a useful counterpoint. Remove the neighbouring SADC countries and the familiar tourism map reappears: Europe and North America dominate.

The headline tourism numbers therefore blend two very different kinds of cross-border movement; one regional and deeply embedded in southern Africa’s social and economic life, the other much closer to the conventional idea of international tourism.

Happy Tourism Month!