South African Tourism report.

[Ming]

Annual report on South African Tourism 2005. Big suprise.

The biggest overall contribution to tourism direct spend in South Africa came from Mozambique.

Altogether 596 462 Mozambiqueans visited South Africa, and spent an average of R18 200. This means that their overall contribution was almost R11-billion. The number of visitors from Mozambique increased by almost 68 percent from 2004.

There was also a large increase in Zimbabweans visiting South Africa – up 40 percent from the previous year. A total of 773 991 Zimbabweans spent an average of R8 396 and overall contributed R6,4-billion. The third highest contribution came from Botswana with 794 706 visitors spending on average R6 989 and totalling R5,4-billion.

Other major contributions came from the UK, with about R4-billion at an average of R8 601 per visitor. Individual German visitors were more extravagant than their British counterparts, averaging R8 895, but because fewer Germans visited South Africa, their overall spend was only R2,2-billion.

The highest per capita spenders of the foreign visitors who came to South Africa in 2005 were the 36 045 Indians, who on average spent R11 392.

[Ming]

A record 2,7 million tourists visited South Africa between January and April, reflecting a 16 percent increase over the first quarter of last year, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk.

"With just over 2,7 million arrivals from January to April, this is the first time we have broken through the 2,5 million mark in the first four months of the year," he said. "This figure compares very favourably with our first quarter arrivals of 1998, which stood at just over 1,8 million. We have seen a 16 percent increase in arrivals across all territories compared to the same period last year."

"The largest component of this growth comes from the Africa and the Middle East region, which was 21,9 percent higher confirming the importance of this sector to our continued success," he said.

"The region showing the second largest growth at 7,1 percent was Asia and Australasia."

Earlier the minister had said that South Africa aimed to become one of the world's top 10 business conference destinations by 2010, the year it hosts the Football World Cup.

"This year, the global conference and meetings sector is forecast to comprise 10 percent of the estimated $672-billion being generated from travel and tourism activity," he had said recently.

Van Schalkwyk said South Africa was currently rated the world's 32nd leading conference destination by the International Congress and Convention Association and "we have declared our intention of breaking into the top 10 by 2010".

TV viewers across Europe will have a feast of documentaries next week on the National Geographic Channel's "South Africa Week" which starts on Monday, South African Tourism announced.

[Olivia]

Sadly for the lot of us that do not have the National Geographic Channel. How nice it would've been seeing South Africa in perspective.