Since the tourism growth strategy was introduced in 2002, South Africa has experienced compound annual growth of more than 6.9%, with 13.9% growth recorded in 2006 alone (8.4-million tourists), according to SA Tourism data. The average growth for the industry globally was only 4.5% in 2006.

Tourism has thus become one of the country’s biggest contributors to GDP: foreign arrivals contributed R222-billion to the country’s economy between 2003 and 2006, of which revenue originating in South African Development Community countries comprising more than 60% of this; while domestic tourism in 2007 contributed a further R16.5-billion.

However, this does not even touch the potential of South Africa’s tourism market. A recent report by the World Travel and Tourism Council indicated that the possible growth in the South African market was outstripping that of competing African destinations.