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South Africa is falling behind competitors such as Morocco and Tunisia in attracting international tourists, with visitor numbers from key markets including China and India still well below pre-Covid levels. Speaking to CapeTalk Afternoon Drive’s John Maytham, Tourism Business Council of South Africa CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said the figures showed that South Africa’s strategies in those markets had not worked. “Those two markets are a concern for us,” he said. “Whatever the strategy we had in those two markets has not been working.” Tshivhengwa said that safety concerns were one of the biggest deterrents for Chinese tourists, while limited direct air access was also hurting arrivals from India. “The biggest deterrent, especially in the Chinese market, as far as South Africa is concerned, is issues of personal safety,” he said. “We don’t have any airline flying to South Africa from India directly.” He said South Africa needed to improve air access, strengthen destination marketing and work more closely with airlines and travel partners in key markets.

“We need to up our game in the marketing space,” he said. “We need to put our best foot forward in terms of how we engage with the trade partners in-country who convince people to come to South Africa.” Tshivhengwa rejected the idea that geopolitical issues alone were to blame, pointing out that arrivals from the United States were still growing. “If the Trump factor was indeed a big factor, it would show on the American market,” he said. He added that high oil prices and expensive airfares were also making long-haul destinations such as South Africa less competitive than North African countries that are closer to Europe. But, he said, South Africa should focus on what it can control. “What we can control is effective marketing, effective destination marketing in all the markets that we believe are priority.” Tshivhengwa said attracting more tourists would directly impact jobs and economic growth. “If we do that, we impact the economy, we create jobs, and especially jobs because they are needed for many young people who can easily enter the tourism industry within South Africa.”

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