Overseas tourist arrivals to South Africa dropped 13% year on year for the month of June, according to the latest tourist arrival stats released by Statistics South Africa. Year to date, overseas arrivals are down 10%.
According to the latest figures, SA received 113 689 overseas tourists in June compared with 130 410 for the same period last year.
The markets with the biggest decline continue to be emerging markets China and India, which are down 28% and 25% respectively. Year to date, China and India are down 31% and 15%.
Both are subject to SA’s new immigration regulations that require that visa applications be made in person. Members of the trade have argued that this requirement has caused a decline in travel from these markets.
Arrivals from Brazil were down 10%.
Traditional markets also continued their decline. For the month of June, arrivals out of the UK dropped 8% to 17 897 from 19 371; arrivals out of the US dropped 9% to 26 503 from 29 269; and arrivals from Germany dropped 12% to 6 983 from 7 927.
Arrivals from Australia, Canada and The Netherlands were also down. Arrivals from France were up marginally.
To view the stats report for June, click here.
