South Africa’s unmatched natural attractions, generous people, remarkable history and a modern, albeit creaky, infrastructure make this country an obvious destination for tourists from around the world.
This festive season, for the first time, more than a million foreign tourists will fly into Cape Town for what they hope will be an unforgettable experience, savouring its beaches, mountains and wine farms. They will be joined by tens of thousands of South Africans in resorts from Ballito to Bakoven, pumping millions into the economy.
While tourism around the rest of the country has shown an encouraging resurgence since Covid-19, it remains at levels that are disappointingly off the pre-lockdown peak. Its contribution to GDP, at 6.8%, lags comparable countries. In Australia tourism contributes 8.1% to GDP, in Thailand the figure is 13.3%.
Considering all that South Africa has to offer, tourism should be making a significantly bigger contribution to GDP and employment than it is now. But it is being held back by the same factors that are hobbling South Africa’s growth as a whole, prime among them load-shedding and other infrastructural decay, along with an internal transport system that is deficient in so many ways, and crime.
Take Table Mountain, one of the natural wonders of the world, whose reputation is being sullied by criminal attacks on its slopes. Just this year, there are said to have been 88 muggings on the mountain, which is administered by SanParks, the national agency that looks after our game reserves and other natural areas. Despite pleas and complaints, those with an interest in safeguarding the mountain for future generations find a strange reluctance at SanParks to mount the sort of patrols and security effort that might go some way in making it safe again. Just that one small step could make a huge difference.
It’s not a matter of patrolling every square metre of the mountain reserve, but rather of having a team that shows a willingness to make a difference.
This week, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) resumed its Shosholoza Meyl long-distance trains to Cape Town, a laudable advance but one that was marred by cable theft that forced the passengers to continue the trip by bus from Wellington.
Such incidents, and the numerous cases of attacks on tourists unaware of the ever-present danger that lurks in many parts of South Africa, give the country a bad name and hardly act as a magnet for well-heeled foreign visitors.
Tourism can provide tens of thousands of jobs and should attract greater focus and attention from a government whose policies have tended not to decrease the pool of the unemployed. Our great climate and many attractions are a strong advantage. But we could see even more visitors if we attended to those factors that might persuade tourists to go elsewhere.
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