South African tourism targets 72% increase in arrivals from India

CHENNAI: South Africa emerged a leading travel destination for Indians in 2022. Owing to its robust recovery efforts and aim to promote diverse, authentic destination offerings through the ‘More & More’ campaign, an increasing number of Indian travellers are choosing this country as their next adventure destination.

Witnessing a 200 per cent surge in travellers from India compared to the previous year, the Rainbow Nation welcomed nearly 50,000 Indians till November last year. The growth resulted in South African Tourism significantly exceeding its goal of bringing 33,900 plus visitors set at the beginning of the recovery year.

To propel the momentum further, South African Tourism is organising roadshows in key cities such as Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai from 13 to 16 February along with its 35-member trade delegation showcasing innovative and one-of-a-kind offerings for Indian consumers and trade partners.

Participating exhibitors represented key regions such as Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo, and Eastern Cape aspiring for fruitful partnerships. The roadshow held in Chennai resulted in reinforcement of existing business deals between key Indian and South African trade partners as well as paved the way towards building many such meaningful partnerships in the near future, a release said.

In 2022, India moved up two spots to become the sixth largest international source market for driving tourism in South Africa. Providing guidance on its strategic roadmap for 2023, tourism board is aiming to achieve a substantial increase of 72 per cent in Indian travellers over their previous year’s target.

“This is the 19th edition of our annual India Roadshow, and each time we are humbled by the warmth destination South Africa receives from travellers across the country.

India continues to remain one of our key focus markets globally and it is encouraging to see upward growth from emerging cities like Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad, while traditional markets like Mumbai and Delhi continue to flourish,” said Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head, MEISEA, South African Tourism.

Chennai, a strategically important market for South African Tourism, is projected to grow at 30 per cent CAGR to become the highest Indian growth market for the tourism board by 2025. Most visitors from the city see South Africa as their summer travel destination. The relaxation in travel norms post the pandemic has been one of the biggest motivators and is showing no signs of slowing down.