With South Africa edging swiftly towards its tourist high season, how has the industry performed in recent months? 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   read more »

  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   read more »

  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   read more »

  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   read more »

  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   read more »

Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES), first quarter 2016   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   read more »

Much has been said about the importance of tourism, particularly of its role in economic growth, employment and attracting foreign exchange. The latest Tourism Satellite Account for South Africa report provides indicators of tourism’s role in these three spheres. Time series for much of the data are now available (10 years).   Tourism as a   read more »

Hotel occupancy fell to 48,2% in June 2015, according to preliminary figures in Stats SA’s latest Tourist accommodation release. The hotel occupancy rate followed a seasonal pattern by falling in June after peaking in both October (62,4%) and February (60,6%)1. However, hotels had proportionally fewer rooms filled in June compared with the same month in   read more »

The tourism industry continues to play an important role in the South African economy. The latest Tourism Satellite Account for South Africa report provides an overview of tourism’s contribution in terms of spending, employment and its impact on the gross domestic product (GDP). Tourism direct GDP was R103,6 billion in 2013, rising from R93,5 billion   read more »