(Bloomberg) -- South African tourism grew by 9.7% to about 3.8 million arrivals between January and May, compared with a year ago, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said.
The increase contributed to a 27.5% advance in direct spending by overseas visitors to 95.1 billion rand ($5.3 billion) in the 2023-24 financial year. The overall contribution of tourism to the nation’s economy was even higher, she told lawmakers in Cape Town on Tuesday.
“The World Travel & Tourism Council estimated that the total combined contribution of tourism to gross domestic product increased from 421.7 billion rand in 2022 to an estimated 458.9 billion rand in 2023, representing 6.8% of gross domestic product,” she said.
The nation saw a notable increase in visitors from Asia, Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East, with countries such as Ghana and Kenya showing strong improvement following a visa waiver program, De Lille said.
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