South Africa is one of the most stunning countries you could ever befall. Its lush mountains, greenery and stunning beaches are otherworldly, whilst the rivers run wide and fast, creating a scenic view that glitters in your eyes.

Let’s not forget about its diverse cultures where you can find people in one area speaking 11 different languages. And the cherry on the top is the mouth-watering foods (no pun intended) such as Kota (quarter) which is a greasy sandwich stuffed with chips, polony, atchaar and cheese, usually sold in the townships.

But what makes South African tourism so popular? Read on to discover everything you need to know about the Rainbow Nation.

The people

South Africa is a diverse nation. Most people in the country have what we call Ubuntu (humanity). Greeting a stranger is a norm; you don’t have to know someone to ask how they are doing. This cultural tradition makes you feel welcomed and loved visiting the country for the first time. 

The beautiful attractions

This country has endless beautiful attractions — some natural, others man-made. For example, we have world-class cities like Cape Town that have gorgeous beaches, the iconic Table Mountain and the historic Robben Island Museum, where South Africa’s first Black president Nelson Mandela was jailed for 18 years. 

Furthermore, there is Mpumalanga, which is one of the most stunning provinces in the country, with Three Rondavels near the Blyde River Canyon and Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains — a world heritage site containing the oldest sedimentary and volcanic rock. There is also the Kruger National Park where you can spot the Big Five (lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalos). .

The weather

South Africa’s weather is just gorgeous. The country experiences a high degree of sunshine with rainfall about half of the global average, increasing from west to east, and with semi-desert regions in the north-west. The Western Cape has a Mediterranean climate with winter rainfall, but most of the country experiences summer rain.

The history

Black South Africans suffered so much discrimination, injustice and pain during the apartheid regime (1948-1999). Tourists often come to the country to learn more about our history. There are places like the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg where one can learn more about how Black people were treated by the apartheid government. 

We also have townships like Soweto which is one of the hottest tourist destinations. Soweto is a place that holds a lot of history; there is Vilakazi Street where political activists Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela used to reside. There is also the Hector Pieterson Museum, where Soweto students were killed by the apartheid government in June 1976, for marching against the use of Afrikaans language in local schools.

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How tourism contributes to the economy and the impact of Covid-19

Tourism used to be one of the main drivers of South Africa's national economy. According to Statista, the tourism sector contributed about 6.89% to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017. However, there has been a dramatic decline since the global Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, travel and tourism contributed only 3.7% to the GDP and is still in recovery mode. 

Covid-19 left the tourism industry in disarray. Statistics South Africa reveals that foreign arrivals dropped by 71%, from more than 15.8 million in 2019 to less than five million in 2020. The report also states that the overall number of travellers decreased by 71.0% between 2019 and 2020. Furthermore, approximately 470,000 jobs were lost in the tourism sector during the global COVID-19 pandemic. .

Challenges in the South African tourism industry

The obstacles within the tourism sector are caused by a number of factors, and the most common one is the high crime rate. 

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The crime rate and its negative impact on the tourism sector

The country is faced with a very high crime rate. It was revealed in June of this year (2022) by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, in the Quarter Four Crime Statistics report that there has been a 22.2% increase in murder. More alarmingly, the report revealed children and women being murdered have shot up by 37.2% and 70.5% respectively. In the first three months of the year, 10,818 people were raped in South Africa, and 4,653 of the incidents took place at the home of the victim or the home of the perpetrator.

Although these stats are very disconcerting, it is unfortunately not something new to SA as the impact of the country’s high crime rate was identified in 2019 by the Tourism Business Council of SA. 

“Over the past 20 years, one of the things that tourists are worried about is their safety. This has been one of the inhibitors to growth… If it were not for this, we would be sitting on 15 million to 20 million visitors a year,” the council’s CEO, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, said.

“As a country, we’ve got everything that any tourist would want to see, and it’s quite important that they feel safe. We have, however, seen a recurrence of the same crimes against tourists in the past few months, and this calls for us to look at tourism differently as it creates jobs. It’s labour intensive and doesn’t require too much infrastructure.” 

Poverty

The tourism sector cannot rely on locals to travel around the country to make up for the lost economy. 

One in five South Africans are living in extreme poverty especially with the ongoing fuel and food prices hike. In May 2021, the average price of petrol per litre was R16.20. A year later, it went over R26 per litre.

According to South African early-wage payment solutions provider Floatpays, 76% of South Africans run out of money before the month ends, and 57% of South Africans run out of money as soon as halfway through the month. So for them, travelling is a luxury and not a necessity. 

Load shedding

The never-ending load-shedding affects the tourism industry because the hotel staff cannot work on PCs to check for bookings or even charge their mobile devices. 

South Africans regularly experience power cuts for at least five hours daily and there seems to be no plan to tackle the issue. 

What’s the plan? 

The government is trying to help the tourism sector gain momentum through the recovery plan, which includes stimulating domestic demand through targeted initiatives and campaigns. 

A statement issued by the tourism government said: “It is expected that together, the interventions and enablers outlined in this plan will facilitate the preservation of R189 billion of value, help the sector to recover to its 2019 output and employment levels by 2023, and position the sector for long-term sustainable growth. Furthermore, the implementation of the plan can reduce the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on employment by 125,000 jobs.”

South Africa remains a beautiful country despite the various challenges it faces and definitely worth considering when you are booking your next vacay!