Figure 3: South Africa Travel & Tourism Competitiveness (Source: World Economic Forum (WEF_TTCI_2019_Profile_ZAF

Cape has retained its eighth position (of nine provinces) with respect to the number of international

visitors. While only 0.4 million of the 10.5 million international tourist arrivals in 2018 visited the Eastern

Cape, this was a 6.1% increase on the previous year. Because international visitors tend to stay longer

in the Eastern Cape than four of the other provinces, the province has maintained position seven for value (money) spent while visiting.

The core markets on which the ECPTA concentrates are the Benelux countries, Germany and the United

Kingdom. Visitor growth from these countries was muted in 2018, while France and Italy showed

positive growth. The biggest recorded growth was for visitors from China, although the 153% growth rate was off a very low base. Expansion into new international markets in support of SAT’s Strategy

2020-25 is therefore under consideration.

The World Economic Forum’s “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index for 2019” indicates that South Africa’s competitiveness has declined for 2 consecutive cycles, ranking 48th of 141 countries in 2015, 53rd of 136 countries in 2017, and 61st of 140 countries in 2019.

Figure 3: South Africa Travel & Tourism Competitiveness (Source: World Economic Forum (WEF_TTCI_2019_Profile_ZAF))

Assuming a correlation between national and provincial pictures, competitive strengths relate to “natural resources” and “cultural resources & business travel”. To facilitate competitiveness of the tourism sector globally, the World Economic Forum recognises that “Sub-Saharan Africa shows great untapped potential for natural tourism, which can be better utilized with more development and investment.” The decline in South Africa’s relative competitiveness requires urgent attention, investment and funding both nationally and provincially in order to exploit this “untapped potential”.