Tourism is one of the few sectors of the SA economy that is growing fast, and has the potential to grow faster. The number of overseas (non-African) visitors has grown by 7.5% so far this year and African air arrivals have grown at double that rate. We are on track to finally reach our pre-Covid high of 3-million overseas and African air arrivals by the end of the year.
This really matters, because every 13 air arrivals results in one permanent job, and most of those jobs go to young people. Tourism also has a strong multiplier effect throughout the economy, affecting many other sectors, including transport, retail and property.
Historically, the growth of tourism has been held back by a number of spectacular own goals, especially in relation to visas. The birth certificate debacle took years to resolve and seriously damaged our industry. Aside from that, tourist visas have been difficult to attain, with the department of home affairs requiring reams of documentation and endless bureaucracy.
This is why the announcement of the new electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system really matters. The ETA will create an easy, convenient and quick platform for tourist visa applications while enhancing our security and visitor-tracking capabilities. The experience of countries like Kenya and Turkey suggests that the ETA will lead to substantial growth in tourist numbers. Kenya grew its visitor numbers by 15% in the first year of ETA in 2024.
When SA introduced a visa waiver for Ghana in 2023 arrivals doubled. There is pent-up demand to visit SA from the world’s fastest-growing tourist markets of India and China, but our visa regime has held them back. We have had tourists from these countries pushing at our door while we seem to have done everything possible to keep that door shut.
The introduction of the ETA has the potential to raise our visitor numbers by at least a third, which would mean 1-million extra air arrivals annually. But visa access is only half the story. We need to market the country effectively and compete with myriad other destinations. To do so in the age of AI means that we must have a strong electronic presence so that ChatGPT and its siblings have the data required to direct tourists to our country.
We also need to diversify the destinations that tourists choose to visit in SA beyond the success of the greater Kruger National Park and Cape Town regions. We need to send more tourists throughout the length and breadth of the country, including the game parks of KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, and the beaches and hiking trails of the Eastern Cape. We need to revive Durban’s reputation as a holiday destination and become a magnet for international events.
We need to leverage our extraordinary sporting powers to attract visitors, including those who want to play golf on some of the world’s most beautiful courses. We need to share our political history by ensuring that visitors can access an audio guide in mandarin or a French-speaking tour guide. We need to be able to transport tourists around the country effectively and we need the infrastructure to support their stays. We need to keep them safe and secure and overcome our reputation as a dangerous place to visit.
If we can do these things, we will create a fast-growing “export industry” that generates foreign exchange and is shielded from tariff barriers. Like our rugby team, we will find that if we can overcome handling errors and work towards a common goal, we can compete with the best in the world.
• Bethlehem is an economic development specialist and partner at Genesis Analytics. She has worked in the forestry, renewable energy, housing and property sectors as well as in local and national government. She writes in her personal capacity.
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