ReleaseWire

New Market Report Now Available: South Africa Tourism Report Q4 2013

New Market Report Now Available: South Africa Tourism Report Q4 2013

Posted: Monday, November 25, 2013 at 9:30 AM CST

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 11/25/2013 --Over the past quarter, BMI has become more optimistic on the outlook for the South African tourism sector, based on the strong figures released for 2012 by the Department of Tourism. As such, we have increased our forecasts for both inbound and outbound tourist flows, as well as the number of hotels in South Africa.

Overall, BMI believes that the value of South Africa's hotels and restaurants industry will increase by a strong 86% in US dollar terms over the 2013-2017 period, to reach US$16.34bn. In GDP terms, the contribution of the hotels and restaurants industry to overall GDP will rise from 2.43% in 2013, to 2.78% in 2017, underlining our upbeat stance on the South African tourism industry over the medium term.

View Full Report Details and Table of Contents

A strong pick-up in growth of foreign tourism is anticipated over the coming years, largely due to solid economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). On the downside, the tourism sector still faces considerable headwinds arising from continued weakness in Europe over the forecast period. Lastly, domestic tourism should be bolstered by relatively strong economic growth anticipated for South Africa.

Speaking in September 2013, the Chairman of South Africa Tourism, Frank Kilbourn, said that the country will have to look to other emerging tourist markets (such as the BRIC states (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as uncertainty continues to cloud the economic outlook for Europe, historically one of South Africa's leading tourism markets. This ties in with BMI's analysis of the situation, which believes that arrivals from China and India in particular will prove ever more crucial to inbound tourism flows over the coming years.

Indeed, arrivals from China have trebled over the 2009-12 period. BMI's forecasts are calling for a further 63% growth, to take total arrivals to 265,000 by 2017. All told, tourist arrivals from the BRIC states totalled 330,834 in 2012.

Looking at early trends for 2013, the most recent arrivals data (for the January-April 2013 period) from South Africa Tourism show an 8.2% increase in overseas (i.e. non-African) tourist arrivals. This bodes well for BMI's full-year target of 9% annual growth to be reached. Looking at the total arrivals figure, including Africa, there was 6.3% growth over the first four months of the year, to 3,2645,474.

The South African government currently has ambitious targets for increasing foreign tourist arrivals, targeting 12mn by 2015 and 15mn by 2020. BMI's forecasts are slightly more cautious, calling for the 12mn mark to be passed in 2016. However, we remain broadly optimistic for the tourism sector's outlook overall, with the industry set to continue to receive strong levels of government support over our forecast period.

About Fast Market Research
Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. Representing the world's top research publishers and analysts, we provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. Our unbiased, expert staff will help you find the right research to fit your requirements and your budget. For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.

Browse all Consumer Goods research reports at Fast Market Research

You may also be interested in these related reports:

- Travel and Tourism in South Africa to 2017
- Tourism Economics in South Africa to 2016: Market Profile
- South Africa Consumer Electronics Report Q4 2013
- Inbound and Outbound Tourism in South Africa to 2016: Market Databook
- The Future of Airlines in South Africa to 2016: Market Profile
- The Future of Hotels in South Africa to 2016: Market Profile
- The Future of Car Rental in South Africa to 2016: Market Profile
- Hotels in South Africa to 2016: Market Databook
- Kenya Tourism Report Q4 2013
- New Zealand Tourism Report Q4 2013