South Africa’s Tourism Minister, Patricia de Lille has lauded Ghana’s remarkable growth in tourist arrival to South Africa between 2023 and 2024.
According to Patricia, South Africa received 1.8 million tourist arrivals from the African continent between January and March 2024, marking a significant 74.5% of all arrivals.
But Zimbabwe and Ghana stood out for their remarkable growth. She said Ghana recorded a 249.4% surge when compared to 2023, reaching 7,904 arrivals for January to March 2024.
Patricia stated that the recent visa-waiver agreement between the Ghana and South Africa contributed to this impressive growth within a short period.
“Ghana’s immense performance can be attributed the fact that travellers between Ghana and South Africa no longer need visas for a period of up to 90 days within a calendar year, for purposes of business or tourism,” Patricia de Lille disclosed during the opening ceremony of Africa’s Travel Indaba 2024 event at ICC Durban.
She said South Africa’s targeted integrated marketing initiatives to attract visitors from Ghana, coupled with the visa-waiver, makes for a winning formula for the growth of our sector.
“Travelers from other parts of the world also continued to show their appreciation and love for South Africa. For the first 3 months of 2024, tourist arrivals from the Americas registered at more than 118 000 reflecting a 12.4% growth compared to the same period in 2023,” she continued.
She further stated that South Africa saw more than 420 000 tourist arrivals from Europe, an 8.6% increase from January to March 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
“The United Kingdom remains the top European source market, with more than 125 000 tourists choosing South Africa, marking a 5.3% growth compared to 2023.
Germany experienced a 9.9% increase in arrivals compared to 2023, amounting to over 98,900 tourists.”
“Asian markets also showed significant growth with more than 49 000 arrivals from the region, representing an astounding 25.4% when compared to the same period in 2023.”
“We welcomed more than 16 209 tourists from India and saw over 11 000 arrivals from China, a massive 82% surge in 2024 when compared to 2023,” she concluded.
