SOUTH AFRICA - Minister of tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, says South Africa has outperformed most international markets last year with recorded growth of 3.6 per cent in foreign arrivals.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) January 2010 World Tourism Barometer, the global industry ended the year on a four percent decline in arrivals. However, South Africa recorded a total of more than 9.9m foreign arrivals last year, compared to approximately 9.6m in 2008.
"I regard this kind of growth in the context of international conditions as a resounding vote of confidence in our tourism industry and our destination," says Schalkwyk. "Marketing campaigns by South African Tourism, as well as by our industry, embedded destination awareness and grew the global desire for visiting South Africa, I believe."
CEO at South African Tourism, Thandiwe January-Mclean, congratulated the industry on growth in a year that would be remembered as one of the toughest ever, not only because of the global financial crisis, but with the H1N1 virus and the escalating price of oil taking their toll on the industry too.
"These figures put us tantalisingly close to our 10m arrivals target. We will continue marketing our destination aggressively to embed awareness and ensure that South Africa continues to grow ahead of global trends," she adds.
