Tourism

As South Africa’s visitor numbers pick up, revenues are returning to a tourism industry that suffered a post-World Cup dip compounded by the effects of a tough global environment. Some 4.4m tourists visited South Africa in the first six months of 2012. The government is working to increase the tourism sector contribution to the economy, from a 2009 baseline figure of R189.4bn ($23bn), or 7.9% of GDP, to R499bn ($60.8bn) by 2020. Tourism business performance, particularly in the higher-value segment of the market, remains somewhat muted – however, as traditional target markets continue to be slow, the visitor mix is beginning to shift subtly. As such, businesses will have to develop new strategies to cater to the changing visitor dynamics in the market. This chapter contains interviews with Thulani Nzima, CEO, South African Tourism; and Arthur Gillis, CEO, Protea Hospitality Group.