Media Release 

Domestic tourism survey 2015

Domestic tourism declined between 2013 and 2015 with the total number of day trips decreasing from 54,4 million in 2013 to 48 million in 2014 and 44 million in 2015. Overnight trips decreased from 50,8 million in 2013 to 47,3 million in 2014 and 45,4 million in 2015. The Domestic Tourism 2015 report, released by Statistics South Africa today, further indicates that the highest number of trips was generated in December and January when compared to other months within the reference period.

Despite the downward trend, the total expenditure on day trips increased from R35 billion in 2013 to R39 billion in 2014. Overnight expenditure increased from R68,5 billion in 2013 to R71 billion in 2014. This increase in expenditure has largely been driven by increased spending in the higher living standard measure subgroup (i.e. LSM 8 – 10). Individuals in the LSM 1-4 were less likely to travel. There was a decline in total expenditure on domestic tourism in 2015 after an increase between 2013 and 2014.

The biggest spending during day trips was on shopping, domestic transport as well as food and beverages. Overnight expenditure was primarily on domestic transport, shopping, accommodation, food and beverages. Most money spent during day trips was spent in Gauteng, whereas overnight expenditure occurred in KwaZulu-Natal.

Gauteng and Limpopo were the most popular destinations for day travelers. Tourists (overnight travelers) were most likely to visit Limpopo, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Most overnight trips were undertaken by tourists to visit friends and relatives using taxis (above 60%). Most of them used unpaid accommodation and stayed with friends and relatives. Of all the overnight trips undertaken, more than 80% lasted an average of one week at their destination. Day trips were largely undertaken for shopping purposes, followed by visiting friends and relatives. Tourists undertook overnight trips mostly for leisure purposes and visiting friends and relatives.

Ends

Issued by Statistics South Africa

For technical enquiries, contact:

Dr Kefiloe Masiteng

Deputy Director-General: Population and Social Statistics

Tel: 012 310 2109

Email: KefiloeM@statssa.gov.za

Dr Isabelle Schmidt

Chief Director: Social Statistics

Tel: 012 337 6379

Mobile: 082 884 4281

Email: IsabelSc@statssa.gov.za

For media enquires

Lesedi Dibakwane

Director: Mediaand Public Relations

Tel: 012 310 8578

Cell: 082 805 7088

Email: LesediD@statssa.gov.za

Data is collected on day trips (a trip outside of the usual environment[1] where one leaves and returns within the same day) and overnight trips (a trip outside of the usual environment, where one night or more is spent away from the usual environment).

The total number of day trips taken decreased from 54,4 million in 2013 to 48 million in 2014 and decreased further to 44,3 million in 2015. Overnight trips also declined from 50,8 million in 2013 to 47,3 million in 2014 and 45,4 million in 2015.

Actual total expenditure on domestic overnight trips increased from R68,5 billion in 2013 to R71 billion in 2014. A different pattern was seen in 2015 with a decrease in expenditure to R61,9 billion. Expenditure on day trips also increased from an estimated R35 billion in 2013 to R38,6 billion in 2014 and decreased to R24,9 billion in 2015.

The findings show that 60% of day trips were undertaken using cars, with 30% using taxis. For overnight trips, just less than half (49%) were undertaken using cars, with almost 36% using taxis. Almost half of these overnight trips were for the purpose of visiting friends and relatives, and those undertaking them did not make use of paid accommodation for these trips.

These are just some of the findings from the release. For more information please download the full release here.

Statistician-General to release Domestic Tourism Survey results

The Statistician-General of South Africa, Dr Pali Lehohla, will release the Domestic Tourism Survey, 2015 (DTS) results at a media briefing to be held on Thursday, 16 March 2017 in Pretoria.

The DTS is a large-scale household survey aimed at collecting accurate statistics on the travel behaviour and expenditure of residents of South Africa travelling within the borders of the country.

The media briefing will be held as follows:

Date         :  Thursday, 16 March 2017

Time        :   13H15

Venue      :  Tshedimosetso House, Cnr Francis Baard & Festival streets, Hatfield, Pretoria

(NB! There will be a video link to Media Centre, 120 Plein Street, Parliament, Cape Town.)

RSVP:

Felicia Sithole

Tel: 012 339 2401

Cell: 076 430 0693

Email: FeliciaS@statssa.gov.za

Madimetja Mashishi

Tel: 012 337 6456

Cell: 073 821 5994

Email: MadimetjaMa@statssa.gov.za

For media enquiries contact:

Lesedi Dibakwane

Tel: 012 310 8578

Cell: 082 805 7088

Email: LesediD@statssa.gov.za

Issued by Statistics South Africa

The number of overseas tourists to our shores declined in 2015, falling from 9,5 million in 2014 to 8,9 million in 2015¹. The drop in the number of visitors didn’t slow the tourism industry’s contribution to employment, though. The industry created 32 186 new jobs in 2015, raising the tourism workforce from 679 560 individuals in 2014 to a total of 711 746 individuals.

Currently, one in 22 employed people in South Africa work in the tourism industry, representing 4,5% of the total workforce. In fact, tourism surpasses mining as an employer. The mining industry employed about 462 000 individuals in the quarter ending December 2015².

However, whereas mining contributed 8,0% to the South African economy in 2015³, the tourism industry’s contribution was 3,1%⁴. In other words, for every R100 produced by the South African economy, R3,10 was a result of tourism. This makes the tourism industry larger than the agriculture industry, the latter having contributed only 2,4% to the economy in 2015.

The fall in the number of visitors did seem to soften total tourism spend, however. Even though tourists spent more money in 2015 than they did in 2014, the rate of growth in spending was lower compared with previous years. Tourists spent a total of R249,7 billion in 2015, a rise of 3,5% from R241,2 billion in 2014. This rise was lower than those recorded for 2013–2014 (10,5%) and 2012–2013 (9,2%).

The growth rate in spending was notably lower for international tourists. Inbound tourism spending rose by only 1,9% in 2015 compared with 2014, far lower than the 13,3% rise recorded for 2013–2014. Domestic tourists increased their spending by 4,8% over 2014–2015 compared with 8,3% over 2013–2014.

Domestic tourism is the main contributor to total tourism spending, with local travellers having contributed 56,4% (or R140,9 billion) to the total in 2015, compared with international visitors who contributed 43,6% (R108,8 billion).

To find out more, download the Tourism Satellite Account, 2015 report here.

¹ Sourced from Stats SA’s annual tourism reports. Visit the archive here.

² Quarterly Employment Survey, December 2015. Download the release here.

³ Gross domestic product (GDP). Figures were calculated from “1. Prod AN” in the Excel file GDP P0441 Q3 2016, available here.

⁴ Percentage contribution to value added. Contribution to total GDP was 3,0%.

Click on the infographic below to enlarge.

New visa rules that came into effect in October 2014, required visitors to apply for visas in person at South African embassies to record biometric information. These rules were reported to have had a negative impact on the tourism industry. Last year, South Africa relaxed some of the visa rules, dropping the requirement for visitors to apply for visas in person at South African embassies; but have these changes resulted in any improvement in tourist numbers?

How many travellers arrived in SA?

A total of 3,5 million travellers passed through South African ports of entry in August 2016, according to Stats SA’s latest Tourism and Migration report. Despite all concerns, the number of tourists increased by 14% from 731 248 in August 2015 to 833 638 in August 2016. The number of overseas tourists has increased by 22,6% over the same period.

Where did they come from?

The ten leading overseas countries visiting South Africa are the UK, USA, Germany, the Netherlands, France, China, Italy, Australia, India and Spain. Tourists from these ten countries comprised 75,2% of all tourists from overseas countries.

All ten countries showed an increase in the number of tourists to South Africa since August 2015. The highest increase of 66,1% was for tourists from China, followed by Spain at 51,5%. The increase in Chinese visitors may be related to the relaxed visa regulations that now allow tour operators to apply for visas for Chinese tourists.

The United Kingdom (UK) had the smallest increase in tourists (9,8%) since the same time last year.

For tourists arriving from the African continent, 97,2%, were from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. The remaining 2,8% of tourists arrived from West Africa, East and Central Africa and North Africa. The ten leading SADC countries in terms of the number of tourists visiting South Africa in August 2016 were Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Malawi showed the largest increase of tourists at 34,2%, while Mozambique showed the largest decrease at 6,2%.

Why did they travel to SA?

It may not come as any surprise, but more than 90% of tourists from each of the overseas regions came to South Africa for a holiday. Asia had the highest proportion of tourists who came to South Africa for business (7,1%), while the Middle East had the highest proportion of tourists who came for study purposes (1,0%) compared to other overseas regions. While only 2,4% of business persons arrived from SADC regions, 5,1% were from “other” African countries. The highest proportion of tourists (7%) were students from North Africa.

South Africa’s reputation for delivering scenic countrysides, a sunny climate and rich cultural diversity makes it a desirable destination for travellers. With the weak rand and the summer months approaching, South Africa may see tourism numbers increase even further.

Mpumalanga Community Survey 2016 results

The total population recorded for Mpumalanga in 2016 was 4,4 million, an increase from the population of 4,1 million in 2011, making it the fourth smallest province in the country in terms of population size, after the North West. 49,3% of the population in the province are male and 50,7% are female. The number of households increased from 1 075 488 in 2011 to 1 238 861 in 2016. Average household size in the province decreased from 3,8 in 2011 to 3,5 in 2016.  Ehlanzeni (483 903) has the highest number of households.

Migration

The majority of the population (3,7 million) currently residing in the Mpumalanga were born in  the province. About 169 172 Mpumalanga residents were born in Gauteng and 116 132 from Mpumalanga were born outside of South Africa.  Those that were born in Limpopo (155 000) migrated to Mpumalanga.

Housing

Over four-fifths (84,7%) of the population reside in formal dwellings and 10,9% in informal dwellings. Mpumalanga recorded a (19,5%) proportion of households who reported that their main dwelling was a RDP/government subsidised dwelling as compared to other provinces. Over three-fifths (62,5%) of the households in the Mpumalanga reported that their dwellings were owned and fully paid off.

Access to basic services

29% of households in the Mpumalanga had access to piped water inside the dwelling. A further 44,4% had access to piped water inside the yard and 5,4% had access to piped water from an access point outside the yard.  77,3% of households in the province reported that they had access to safe drinking water. The province recorded a high percentage of households that had access to electricity for cooking 79,8%, an increase from 69,3% recorded in 2011.

Poverty headcount and hunger

The poverty headcount in Mpumalanga achieved a slight decrease from 7,9% in 2011 and 7,8% in 2016. 273 886 of households in Mpumalanga reported that they had ran out of money in the last 12 months before the survey was conducted. 14,8 % of  households in Mpumalanga missed a meal over the same period.

Ends.

Note to the editors:

The Community Survey is a large-scale household sample survey conducted to bridge the information gap between two censuses. It is one of the few available data sources that provide statistics at municipal level, and it is aimed at enhancing planning, monitoring and evaluation at this level of government. The survey provides data on, among others, population, health, migration, education and access to basic services. The 2016 survey was conducted between March and April 2016 and collected data from 1,3 million households across all South African communities.

Issued by Statistics South Africa

For technical enquiries contact:
Ms Kefiloe Masiteng

Deputy Director-General: Population & Social Statistics

Tel: (012) 310 4663

Email: KefiloeM@statssa.gov.za

For media enquiries contact:
Ms Lesedi Dibakwane

Director: Media Relations

Tel: (012) 310 8578

Cell: 082 805 7088

Email: LesediD@statssa.gov.za

Eastern Cape’s population increased from 6,6 million people in 2011 to 7 million in 2016, making it the third most populous province in the country, behind Gauteng (13,4 million) and KwaZulu-Natal (11,1 million).  The number of households in the province has also increased to 1,8 million in 2016, from 1,7 million in 2011. The district municipality with the largest share of households in the province is Buffalo City (368 520), followed by OR Tambo (313 889), Nelson Mandela Bay (247 759), Amathole (222 415), Alfred Nzo (195 979), Chris Hani (191 356), Sarah Baartman (138 182) and Joe Gqabi (95 294).

Migration

Of the 7 million people currently residing in Eastern Cape, a majority (6,7 million or 95,4%) were born in the province. About 322 177 of Eastern Cape residents were born elsewhere in the country and outside South Africa. Of those born outside the province, a large number was born in Western Cape (101 400), followed by those who were born in Gauteng (72 921), outside South Africa (57 222), and KwaZulu-Natal (45 089). Between 2011 and 2016, Eastern Cape experienced a net-migration of -489 686, which was a result of 939 765 people emigrating from the province and 450 078 moving to the province from elsewhere.

Housing

Nearly two-thirds (65,1% or 1,2 million) of Eastern Cape households stay in formal dwellings, whereas a little more than a quarter reside in traditional dwellings (26,6% or 471 699) and less than a tenth (7,4% or 130 885) live in informal dwellings. More than half (59,5%) of the dwellings in Eastern Cape are owned and fully paid-off. About 12,7% of households in the province indicated that they are renting their main dwelling, and about a tenth (10,2%) of households own their main dwelling but are still to pay off their home loans. Less than a tenth (9,2%) of the of the households stay rent-free in homes they do not own.

Access to basic services

Three quarters of households in the Eastern Cape (75% or 1,3 million) have access to piped water.  The proportion of households with access to electricity has increased from 36,2% in 1996 to 85,4% in 2016. In 2011, 75% of Eastern Cape households had access to electricity. The number of households with access to a flush/chemical toilet increased from 776 222 in 2011 to 928 332 in 2016.

Poverty headcount and hunger

The poverty headcount in Eastern Cape has decreased from 14,4% in 2011 to 12,7% in 2016. Decreases in the poverty headcount were observed in all district municipalities between 2011 and 2016, except in Chris Hani, where it increased from 15,6% in 2011 to 16,4% in 2016. The lowest poverty headcounts were recorded in Nelson Mandela Bay (3,0%), Sarah Baartman (4,5%) and Buffalo City (7,3%).

464 838 of households in Eastern Cape reported that they had ran out of money to buy food in the 12 months before the survey. Nearly a fifth (17,6% or 311 263) of households in Eastern Cape missed a meal over the same period.

Ends.

Note to the editors:

The Community Survey is a large-scale household sample survey conducted to bridge the information gap between two censuses. It is one of the few available data sources that provide statistics at municipal level, and it is aimed at enhancing planning, monitoring and evaluation at this level of government. The survey provides data on, among others, population, health, migration, education and access to basic services. The 2016 survey was conducted between March and April 2016 and collected data from 1,3 million households across all South African communities.

Issued by Statistics South Africa

For technical enquiries contact:
Ms Kefiloe Masiteng

Deputy Director-General: Population & Social Statistics

Tel: (012) 310 4663

Email: KefiloeM@statssa.gov.za

For media enquiries contact:
Ms Lesedi Dibakwane

Director: Media Relations

Tel: (012) 310 8578

Cell: 082 805 7088

Email: LesediD@statssa.gov.za

Free State Community Survey 2016 results

The total population recorded for Free State in 2016 was 2,8 million, an increase from the population of 2,7 million in 2011, making it the second smallest province in the country in terms of population size, after the Northern Cape.  58,3% of the population in the province are male and 41,7% are female. The number of households increased from 823 316 in 2011 to 946 639 in 2016. Average household size in the province decreased from 3,3 in 2011 to 3,0 in 2016.  Mangaung (255 938) and Thabo Mofutsanyane (246 171) have the highest number of households.

Migration

The majority of the population (2,6 million) currently residing in the Free State were born in  the province. About 65 000 Free State residents were born in Gauteng, just over 50 000 from the Eastern Cape and 53 665 were born outside of South Africa.  Those that were born in Limpopo mostly migrated to Gauteng and Mpumalanga.

Housing

Over four-fifths (83,6%) of the population reside in formal dwellings and 12,8% in informal dwellings. The Free State recorded the highest proportion (30,6%) of households who reported that their main dwelling was a RDP/government subsidised dwelling as compared to other provinces. Over three-fifths (61,4%) of the households in the Free State reported that their dwellings were owned and fully paid off.

Access to basic services

37,8% of households in the Free State had access to piped  water inside the dwelling. A further 33,5% had access to piped water inside the yard and 23,7% had access to piped water from an access point outside the yard.  84,5% of households in the province reported that they had access to safe drinking water. The province recorded the highest percentage of households that had access to electricity for cooking – 90,8%, an increase from 84,5% recorded in 2011.

Poverty headcount and hunger

The poverty headcount in Free State remains unchanged, 5,5% in 2011 and 2016. 220 863 of households in the Free State reported that they had ran out of money in the last 12 months before the survey was conducted. 15,7 % of  households in the Free State missed a meal over the same period.

Ends.

Note to the editors:

The Community Survey is a large-scale household sample survey conducted to bridge the information gap between two censuses. It is one of the few available data sources that provide statistics at municipal level, and it is aimed at enhancing planning, monitoring and evaluation at this level of government. The survey provides data on, among others, population, health, migration, education and access to basic services. The 2016 survey was conducted between March and April 2016 and collected data from 1,3 million households across all South African communities.

Issued by Statistics South Africa

For technical enquiries contact:
Ms Kefiloe Masiteng

Deputy Director-General: Population & Social Statistics

Tel: (012) 310 4663

Email: KefiloeM@statssa.gov.za

For media enquiries contact:
Ms Lesedi Dibakwane

Director: Media Relations

Tel: (012) 310 8578

Cell: 082 805 7088

Email: LesediD@statssa.gov.za

Limpopo Community Survey 2016 results

Limpopo’s population by 400 000, from 5,4 million people in 2011 to 5,8 million in 2016, making it the fifth largest province in the country in terms of population size. It trails behind Gauteng (13,4 million), KwaZulu-Natal (11,1 million), Eastern Cape (7 million), and Western Cape (6,3 million).  The number of households in the province has also increased to 1,6 million in 2016, from 1,4 million in 2011. The district municipality with the largest share of households in the province is Vhembe (382 346), followed by Capricorn (378 272), Mopani (338 385), Greater Sekhukhune (290 489), and Waterberg (211 452).

Migration

Of the 5,8 million people currently residing in Limpopo, a majority 5,4 million (93,1%) were born in in the province. About 400 000 of Limpopo residents were born elsewhere in the country and outside South Africa. Of those born outside the province, a large number was born outside South Africa (133 811), followed by those who were born in Gauteng (105 994), Mpumalanga (78 596), and North West (27 508). Between 2011 and 2016, Limpopo experienced a net-migration of -1,2 million, which was a result of 1,6 million people emigrating from the province and 389 151 moving to the province from elsewhere.

Housing

Limpopo has the highest proportion of households living in formal dwellings (88,9% or 1,4 million) and the lowest number of informal dwellings (4,8% or 77 371) in the country. About 5,1% (81 747) of households in the province are living in traditional dwellings. Limpopo also has the highest proportion of “owned and fully paid-off” homes in the country with 65,4%. About 7,5% of households in the province own their main dwellings, however they are still paying back their home loans. More than a tenth (11,4%) of the of the households stay rent-free in homes they do not own, whereas 9,8% rent their main homes.

Access to basic services

The proportion of Limpopo households with access to piped water has decreased to 80% (1 million) in 2016, from 83,6% (1,2 million) in 2011. However, the proportion of households with access to electricity has increased from 39,2% in 1996 to 93% in 2016. In 2011, 87,3% of Limpopo households had access to electricity. The number of households with access to a flush/chemical toilet increased from 322 112 in 2011 to 402 442 in 2016.

Poverty headcount and hunger

The poverty headcount in Limpopo has increased from 10,1% in 2011 to 11,5% in 2016. Increases in the poverty headcount were observed in all district municipalities between 2011 and 2016, except in Vhembe – decreasing from 13% in 2011 to 12,8% in 2016. The lowest poverty headcounts, albeit having increased in comparison with 2011, were recorded in Capricorn (8,5%) and Waterberg (9%).

288 963 of households in Limpopo reported that they had ran out of money in the 12 months before the survey was conducted. A little more than a tenth (12,9% or 205 432) of households in Limpopo missed a meal over the same period.

Ends.

Note to the editors:

The Community Survey is a large-scale household sample survey conducted to bridge the information gap between two censuses. It is one of the few available data sources that provide statistics at municipal level, and it is aimed at enhancing planning, monitoring and evaluation at this level of government. The survey provides data on, among others, population, health, migration, education and access to basic services. The 2016 survey was conducted between March and April 2016 and collected data from 1,3 million households across all South African communities.

Issued by Statistics South Africa

For technical enquiries contact:
Ms Kefiloe Masiteng

Deputy Director-General: Population & Social Statistics

Tel: (012) 310 4663

Email: KefiloeM@statssa.gov.za

For media enquiries contact:
Ms Lesedi Dibakwane

Director: Media Relations

Tel: (012) 310 8578

Cell: 082 805 7088

Email: LesediD@statssa.gov.za

According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) for the first quarter of 2016 released by Statistics South Africa today, employment in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy decreased by 0,2% (15 000 employees) to 9 273 000 in the first quarter of 2016, compared with the previous quarter (4^th quarter, 2015).

Employment decreased in all industries except for community services, construction, and electricity. The largest percentage decrease was recorded in trade (-1,8%), followed by transport (-1,1%), mining (-0,9), manufacturing (-0,7%), and business services (-0,4%).  Electricity, gas and water supply industry recorded no change in employment levels between the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016. The community services and construction industries recorded increased levels of employment over the same period, increasing by 1,7% and 0,6% respectively.

A sub-industry analysis finds that the quarterly decline in the number of people employed in the trade industry was largely driven by declines in employee numbers in retail trade and hotels & restaurants, which recorded declines of 27 000 and 7 000 respectively.

Employment in the mining industry declined for a sixth consecutive quarter. In the first quarter of 2016, the number of employees in mining declined by 4 000 employees, following a decline of 17 000 employees observed in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Gross earnings

For the quarter ended March 2016, employee gross earnings decreased by 4% (R22 billion) from R545 billion in the last quarter of 2015 to R523 billion. Decreases in gross earnings were recorded in all industries with the exception of the business services industry – earnings in this industry increased by 2,7% (R3,7 billion) to R141 billion in the first quarter of 2016, from R137 billion in the last quarter of 2015.

The changes in gross earnings in all industries can be largely attributed to base effects which arose due to bonuses and overtime payments paid in the previous quarter (December 2015).

Average monthly earnings

Average monthly earnings, including bonuses and overtime payments, for all industries in the formal non-agricultural sector of the economy remained at R17 422 in February 2016 compared with November 2015. Declines in average monthly earnings by industry were observed in electricity (-3,7%), mining (-3,2%), construction (-2,1%), manufacturing (-1,3%) and community (-0,1%).

Increases in average monthly earnings including bonuses and overtime payments were observed in trade and finance, with 1,1% and 1,4% respectively.

Ends.

Issued by Statistics South Africa

Technical enquiries:
Ms Kefiloe Masiteng

Deputy Director-General: Population & Social Statistics

Tel: (012) 310 4663

Email: KefiloeM@statssa.gov.za

Mr Peter Buwembo

Chief Director: Labour Statistics

Tel:  012 310 8688

Email: PeterB@statssa.gov.za

Media enquiries:
Ms Lesedi Dibakwane

Director: Media Relations

Tel: (012) 310 8578

Cell: 082 805 7088

Email: LesediD@statssa.gov.za