Tourism analytics - the case for South Africa

Abstract

In the past decades, we witness more international traveling across countries. Most countries are enjoying good growth in the tourism industry prior to the pandemic. However, this is not the story we see in a developing country, South Africa. Tourism is a major source of revenue and employment in South Africa; the COVID-19 pandemic has cast a deep impact on it. As compared to the world’s tourist arrival, South Africa lagged before and during the pandemic. South Africa has the greatest number of cities in the top ten crime cities in the world according to Crime Index Rate ( Current Crime Index, Numbeo, https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_current.jsp); safety is the main deterrent for tourists. Recent data shows a reduction in crime rate over time, and the perceived safety of people in the country continues to increase. However, it does not seem to help with more tourism spending in the country and the rate of tourist arrival continues to fall behind the other countries. In this chapter, we attempt to examine why this is so and propose a solution for South Africa Tourism to move forward. South Africa is one popular tourist destination in the continent of Africa, well known for a variety of tourist attractions like its wildlife game reserves and many heritage sites. Despite its many tourism offerings, South Africa, along with other countries in Africa, is perceived as having a high crime rate and being considered as an unsafe tourist destination. This chapter examines the importance of tourism in South Africa’s economy as well as what attracts and deters tourists from visiting. The impact of COVID-19 and the post-COVID-19 scenario are also discussed, and the chapter concludes with suggestions on how South Africa can make its tourism sector more attractive.