Published on : Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Tourism contributed R426bn to South Africa’s economy in 2018 and SA’s tourism sector is the largest in Africa, as per the World Travel and Tourism Council. The sector generates around 1.5-million jobs, or 9.2% of total employment in SA.
However, prospects for the industry may be shadowed by the Tourism Amendment Bill, which aims to establish regulations for short-term home rentals like Airbnb. If passed, the bill will state, for example, how much a host can earn or the number of nights a tourist can stay at the residence.
According to Statistics SA, the number of tourists in April went up to 903,059. Former Tourism Minister of SA Derek Hanekom said that the easing of travel requirements for minors, and the improvement in Cape Town after a devastating drought would boost overseas tourism this year.
There was 2.1% increase in the number of tourists coming from SA Development Community (Sadc) countries, and an 11.9% increase in overseas tourists, majority of them from Germany and the UK.