Travel industry set to drive economic growth in South Africa

The travel and tourism sector is set to inject biilions into the SA economy. Photo: Sumarie Slabber / flickr

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed that the travel industry will be the driving force behind South Africa’s economic growth over the next decade.

The travel and tourism sector is set to inject biilions into the SA economy. Photo: Sumarie Slabber / flickr

A favourable forecast for the SA travel industry

According to a forecast from WTTC’s Economic Impact Report, the South African travel industry is forecast to grow at an average rate of 7.6% annually over the next decade, significantly overtaking the 1.8% growth rate of the country’s overall economy.

By the year 2032, the travel and tourism industry’s contribution to the national GDP could reach more than R554.6 billion – a whole 7.4% of the total economy – introducing nearly R287 billion into the national economy, reports Travel News.

In conjunction to that, the sector is also expected to create more than 800 000 jobs over the next decade, aiming to reach more than 1.9 million by 2032.

By the end of this year alone (2022), the travel industry’s contribution to GDP is expected to grow 37.2% year-on-year, to nearly R268 billion – 4.3% of the total economy. Employment in the sector is also set to grow by 38%, reaching more than 1.1 million jobs.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President and CEO, said that with this GDP contribution and jobs on the rise, the long-term forecast for SA looks very positive.

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SA Tourism records a ‘staggering’ increase in numbers for 2022

Lindiwe Sisulu says South African Tourism is set for positive growth. Photo: GovernmentZA / flickr

In other travel and tourism news, in a recent media briefing in Johannesburg, Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu presented the domestic and international tourism performance for January to June 2022, and the stats were extremely positive.

According to TravelDailyNews, the minister said that the South African tourism sector was poised for a tremendous bounce back and positive growth after stats from the the first half of the year (2022) showed a staggering 147% in arrivals reaching an impressive 2 285 746.

We are particularly pleased that the arrivals from the Americas increased by 331% and represented 128 991 arrivals,” Sisulu said.

Sundeeka Mungroo

Sundeeka Mungroo is a content writer, foodie and all-round adventure-seeker. She's a graduate of the University of South Africa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, and has worked as a copywriter and editor in the digital marketing industry. Sundeeka currently writes for I Love South Africa and The South African. She lives in the beautiful Mother City and loves exploring all that South Africa has to offer.