Take a Sho't-Left

South Africa's Summer Campaign promotes diverse tourism, showcasing hidden gems and cultural experiences. Special offers aim to boost domestic travel affordability, fostering economic growth and welcoming international tourists. 

The festive season is the busiest period for South Africa’s tourism sector as most travelers prefer to travel in the months of December, as well as September and April.

Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille recently launched the Summer Campaign in Bloemfontein, Free State. She said the campaign is led by the “Gimme Summer that Sho’t Left” campaign.

“The Summer Campaign promises to showcase the vibrant culture, breath-taking landscapes, diverse tourism offerings and rich heritage of our beloved nation,” Minister De Lille said. 

The campaign creates a good platform to promote an inclusive South Africa as an appealing and must-experience tourism destination for both domestic and international travellers, while showcasing a wide variety of experiences including hidden gems, in the festive season.

She said the department’s key mission is to ensure that tourists are made aware of all the tourism offerings and variety in all nine provinces. 

“We have been moving our events to different provinces focusing on lesser visited provinces to expose the hidden gems and ensure that the economic impact of tourism is felt across the country,” she explained.

By driving domestic tourism, the country ultimately builds a culture of travel for South Africans and therefore making them a welcoming nation to regional and international tourists.

To alleviate the pressures brought by the high cost of living and to address affordability concerns for domestic travelers, the Department of Tourism has engaged the tourism sector to provide special offers to South Africans. They will also be available to regional and international tourists.

The Minister said the special offers campaign will run until 12 January 2025.

By the end of October, there were at least 440 offers that have been loaded on the Sho’t Left website that includes offers at a reduced rate from accommodation establishments and tour operators.

“We encourage more companies to load offers on the Sho’t Left website so that South Africans who are struggling with the high cost of living, can also after a hard year, enjoy our tourism offerings. South African Tourism will market these companies and offers on all the department’s platforms including international platforms,” she said.

She added that the impact of last year’s Summer Campaign saw over 10 million domestic trips with a spend of over R38 billion.

South Africa’s Tourism Performance

In 2023, South Africa welcomed around 8.5 million international arrivals, which was up by 48.9% from the 5.7 million arrivals in 2022 which contributed R95 billion in terms of spend.

From January to August this year, South Africa welcomed 5.8 million international arrivals, which was up by 7% compared to 2023. For the first quarter of 2024, total spend was R25.7 billion from foreign travel into South Africa.

Also, in the first quarter of 2024, tourism’s direct and indirect contribution to the Gross Domestic Product was 8.8%, more than that of the mining, construction and transport sector.

Domestic Tourism

In 2023, 37.9 million overnight domestic trips were undertaken, which was 11.3% more than in 2022. On these trips, South Africans spent R121. 4 billion, an increase of 22.4% compared to the 2022 domestic overnight expenditure.

The Minister said driving greater growth and elevating tourism’s profile can only be achieved if all citizens work together. 

“Our mission must be to eradicate poverty, to empower people, to support businesses to start and grow and ensure that more people taste the fruits of our democracy,” she said. ¥