CAPE TOWN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The number of international visitors to South Africa in the first eight months of 2024 surpassed 5.8 million, marking a 7.0-percent increase year on year, Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille said on Friday.
De Lille made the announcement at a media briefing in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, to mark 100 days in office as part of the Government of National Unity.
"The tourism sector has continued to grow significantly as we welcomed over 5.8 million international arrivals between January and August this year, up by more than 385,000 or 7.0 percent compared to the same period in 2023," de Lille said.
According to her, of the more than 5.8 million arrivals, 4.4 million were from the rest of the African continent, an increase of over 326,800 or 7.9 percent compared to the same period last year.
The minister noted that South Africa recorded a total of more than 8.4 million international arrivals for the full calendar year of 2023, up by 2.7 million or 48.9 percent.
"Of the 8.4 million arrivals in 2023, 6.4 million were from the African continent, up by 51.3 percent compared to 2022," said de Lille.
Despite the boom in inbound trips, de Lille pointed out that domestic tourism remains the "bedrock" of the sector.
She revealed that international tourism spending contributed 95 billion rands (about 5.46 billion U.S. dollars) to the country's economy in 2023, while domestic tourism generated an impressive 121 billion rand.
De Lille further said tourism's direct and indirect contribution to South Africa's gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2024 was 8.8 percent, more than the construction, transport, and mining sectors, with employment in the tourism sector projected to grow to 1.7 million jobs in 2024.
"This performance demonstrates the significant impact that the tourism sector has on the country's economy," de Lille said.
"The growth has been promising, but we remain resolute in working harder on marketing initiatives and building our tourism offering to attract even more visitors," she added. ■