Tourism is often promoted as one of the key sectors that will drive growth in South Africa. We take a look at an extract from a Stats SA article to get an idea of what tourists spend their money on:

“Visitors spent just over half a million rand every minute during the course of 2017! That amounts to R277 billion for the entire year, according to the latest Tourism Satellite Account for South Africa report. Domestic visitors were the biggest spenders, pumping R156 billion (or 56%) into the economy, while international visitors contributed the remaining R121 billion (or 44%).

A little digging into domestic visitor expenditure reveals that local explorers focused their spending on road passenger transportation (taking up 27% of the R156 billion), followed by non-specific products. These are products that visitors buy that are not specifically related to tourism-characteristic activities. Retail (‘shopping’) products fall into this category. Air transport was ranked as the 3^rd most important item in the domestic visitor’s budget, contributing 15% to total spending in 2017.

The beautiful thing about this analysis is that annual data is available from as far back as 2005, showing how domestic visitors have shifted their habits over time. Road passenger transportation was also ranked #1 in 2005, but this item took up 36% of total domestic expenditure then, higher than the 27% recorded in 2017. Accommodation was the second-most important item in 2005, falling to 4^th place in 2017.The major mover, however, was non-specific products, shifting from 6^th place in 2005 to 2^nd spot in 2017.

Non-resident visitors gracing our shores have slightly different spending priorities. The major spending item for international visitors is non-specific products, followed by accommodation and tourism-connected products. Road passenger transportation was the fourth-most important expenditure item. The spending habits of international visitors have remained more stable over time, with little change happening from 2005 to 2017.”

If you are thinking of venturing into the tourism market, or have an existing business in the tourism industry, why not consult us to develop or update your business plan to set key performance indicators to ensure you are on track to meet your business objectives.