An overview of the tourism industry in south africa

Eastern Cape	7.7%	7.8%
7.6%
Limpopo	6.0%	5.7%	7.0%
Northern Cape	2.7%	2.6%	2.6%

(Compiled by NMMU Tourism Research Unit from SA Annual Tourism Report 2005)

PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FOREIGN TOURISTS % BEDNIGHTS
Province	2003	2004	2005
Gauteng	31%	31%	31%
Western Cape	26%	28%	28%
KwaZulu Natal	15%	15%	16%
Mpumalanga	7%	7%	7%
Eastern Cape	6%	6%	6%
Free State	7%	5%	4%
Limpopo	3%	3%	4%
North West	4%	3%	3%
Northern Cape	1%	1%	1%

(Compiled by NMMU Tourism Research Unit from SA Annual Tourism Report 2005)
Commentary:

• 
  The comparative tables above indicate the percentage of foreign tourists visiting each province in South Africa and the percentage of bed nights spent in each province
  

• 
  The above tables indicate that nearly 8% of all foreign tourists to South Africa visit the Eastern Cape but only 6% spend at least one night in the province. This means that 2% leak out e.g. they are either dropped off at Port Elizabeth or East London airports for departures to other provinces or to O.R. Tambo International Airport before leaving South Africa but they do not spend a single night in the province
  

11. 
    Accommodation Growth in South Africa 1996 and 2004
    

Accommodation	Beds 2004	Beds 1996	% growth, 2004 over 1996
Hotels	120 000	85 000	41%
Resort & Self-catering	194 000	75 000	159%
Guest Houses & Guest Farms	46 200	30 000	54%
Bed & Breakfast	26 000	8 000	325%
Game & Hunting Lodges	25 200	24 000	5%
Timeshare	24 400	22 000	11%
Executive Apartments	5 000	3 000	67%
TOTAL	440 800	247 000	79%

(Source: Grant Thornton 2004)
Commentary:
Unfortunately a more recent survey has not been undertaken but the above table clearly indicates national growth in the accommodation sector.

STATISTICS SOUTH AFRICA TOURIST ACCOMMODATION STATISTICS FROM DECEMBER 2005 TO DECEMBER 2006 P6410
	Dec 2005	Jan 2006	Feb 2006	Mar 2006	Apr 2006	May 2006	Jun 2006	Jul 2006	Aug 2006	Sep 2006	Oct 2006	Nov 2006	Dec 2006
Hotels
Occupancy rate	61,0%	59,3%	72,8%	70,3%	63,5%	62,8%	60,8%	61,6%	65,6%	73,9%	71,8%	77,0%	63,0%
Average income	R554	R579	R573	R555	R519	R514	R528	R526	R501	R537	R571	R636	R640
Caravan Parks & Camping sites
Occupancy rate	37,8%	18,5%	12,0%	15,8%	21,7%	9,8%	10,0%	11,9%	15,4%	14,7%	11,6%	16,1%	34,4%
Average income	R281	R197	R215	R239	R172	R254	R214	R225	R165	R238	R257	R233	R288
Guest Houses & Guest Farms
Occupancy rate	44%	39%	47%	49%	47%	35%	34%	40%	48%	50%	50%	53%	59%
Average income	R537	R542	R541	R450	R451	R390	R420	R439	R461	R441	R472	R527	R586
Other Accommodation
Occupancy rate	37,4%	35,5%	39,0%	39,8%	42,7%	35,5%	34,4%	38,6%	38,0%	40,9%	39,3%	39,5%	46,4%
Average income	R370	R374	R305	R312	R321	R291	R283	R278	R295	R317	R322	R380	R399

(Comparative tables compiled by the NMMU Tourism Research Unit)
Commentary:

• 
  Stay unit refers to the unit of accommodation that is available to be charged out to guests e.g. a powered site in a caravan park or a room in a hotel
  
• 
  There are no published releases for the provinces. Provinces will have to collect there own accommodation statistics
  
• 
  Average income is the average income per stay unit nights sold e.g. hotel room nights sold
  

12. 
    Accommodation Usage Foreign Tourists to South Africa Bed Nights 2003, 2004, 2005
    

Establishment	2003	2004	2005
Hotels	14,683,912	13,534,840	13,332,598
Guest Houses	3,903,069	3,919,362	3,872,463
Bed & Breakfasts	3,167,420	3,164,880	3,673,093
Game Lodges	2,905,801	2,804,163	2,562,387
Self-catering units	4,336,750	3,951,303	5,793,860
Backpacking Hostels	3,321,407	3,007,731	3,194,332
Camping & Caravan Parks	1,237,627	1,183,786	1,015,201
Trains/Ships	3,521,699	1,059,860	128,651
TOTAL	37,077,685	32,625,925	33,572,585

(Source: SA Annual Tourism Reports 2003, 2004 and 2005)
Commentary:
The table above indicates recent growth in the demand for self-catering units by foreign tourists and it is assumed that these are mainly independent travellers. Group tours usually purchase an inclusive package of which pre-booked hotel accommodation is included in the package. Results for 2006 have not yet been released.

13. 
    Foreign Tourism Accommodation Usage (bed nights) Per Quarter South Africa 2005 and 2006
    

Establishments	Q1 2005	Q1 2006	Q2 2005	Q2 2006	Q3 2005	Q3 2006	Q4 2005	Q4 2006
VFR	6,600,062	7,568,648	5,381,807	6,408,553	5,603,726	6,114,404
Hotels	3,474,156	4,255,856	2,843,103	2,751,091	2,999,938	3,144,954
Guest Houses	921,565	1,445,585	806,264	1,010,753	1,003,595	762,106
Game Lodges	552,310	680,503	528,625	709,396	707,884	836,068
Self-catering units	1,084,325	1,326,821	1,386,391	1,807,610	1,533,324	1,783,710
Bed & Breakfasts	929,318	1,015,983	726,113	642,599	853,305	760,125
Other establishments	911,003	779,627	548,750	1,099,573	373,735	608,337
Backpacking hostels	963,641	569,997	535,233	559,979	851,932	577,859
Camping & caravan parks	224,072	256,528	252,970	252,276	292,000	182,991
Hospitals	75,934	172,613	136,706	82,985	86,185	130,431
Train/ship	28,303	17,877	17,289	25,480	32,520	14,285

Commentary:
The table above indicates the seasonality of accommodation used by foreign tourists visiting South Africa. The comparative results for Q4 have not been released yet but there is an indication of year round usage which matches the profile of independent travellers.

14. 
    Type Of Package Used By Foreign Tourists To SA 2004
    

• 
  Fully inclusive package is where airfare, accommodation, coach tours and food are all included
  
• 
  Full package is where airfare, accommodation and food is included
  
• 
  Package is where airfare and accommodation is included
  
• 
  Independent travellers book airfare, accommodation, coach tours and food separately
  

Country	Fully inclusive package	Full package	Package	Independent
Africa & Middle East
Angola	9.8%	1.0%	1.3%	87.8%
Botswana	23.4%	1.8%	5.6%	69.2%
Kenya	26.3%	2.7%	2.5%	68.5%
Lesotho	25.6%	5.3%	1.7%	67.4%
Malawi	13.4%	4.9%	1.7%	79.9%
Mozambique	7.1%	5.2%	3.2%	84.5%
Namibia	13.2%	5.6%	1.5%	79.7%
Nigeria	19.7%	2.8%	2.5%	75.0%
Swaziland	27.8%	2.5%	1.7%	67.9%
Tanzania	12.0%	3.3%	4.3%	80.4%
Zambia	10.8%	3.2%	3.4%	82.6%
Zimbabwe	12.8%	5.4%	1.6%	80.1%
Other Africa & Middle East	18.6%	4.8%	4.6%	72.1%
Americas
Brazil	27.9%	5.4%	4.4%	62.3%
Canada	27.1%	2.7%	2.6%	67.7%
USA	28.9%	4.2%	2.5%	64.4%
Other Americas	34.3%	4.7%	5.1%	55.8%
Asia & Australasia
Australia	17.8%	3.8%	2.2%	76.2%
China (inc Hong Kong)	38.2%	9.1%	5.4%	47.3%
India	23.0%	4.8%	1.3%	71.0%
Japan	37.2%	7.3%	6.5%	49.0%
Europe
France	44.9%	4.4%	3.0%	47.7%
Germany	27.9%	4.9%	3.3%	63.9%
Italy	39.0%	6.3%	7.5%	47.3%
Netherlands	28.3%	3.4%	5.2%	63.1%
Sweden	23.5%	3.4%	5.5%	67.7%
United Kingdom	22.1%	3.8%	2.6%	71.5%
Other Europe	25.7%	4.6%	3.4%	66.2%
ALL FOREIGN TOURIST	25.2%	4.4%	3.3%	67.1%

From the above it is evident that the majority of foreign tourists to South Africa are independent travelers. This means that either South Africa is mainly attracting the independent travel market or that South African package tours are not competitive. Competitiveness is a function of price related to value and product differentiation. There have been complaints from overseas tour operators that South Africa is offering too many of the same products i.e. not enough variety. It is worth noting that China, Japan, Italy and France are the exceptions.

15. 
    Guesthouse Accommodation In South Africa
    

2.15.1 Guesthouse Definition: (Tourism Grading Council of South Africa)
A guesthouse is either defined as a converted house, manor, etc adapted to accommodate overnight guests or it may be a purpose built facility. A guesthouse is run as a commercial operation and is often owner-managed. A guesthouse has public areas that are for the exclusive use of the guest. The owner/manager either lives off-site, or in a separate area within the property. A further definition is that guesthouses must offer three meals a day as opposed to only bed and breakfast.

STATS SA TOURIST ACCOMMODATION GUEST HOUSES 2005
Guest-houses and guest-farms	12 months 2005
Average stay units available	10 817
Total stay unit nights sold	1 839 800
Average occupancy rate (%)	37,9%
Average income per stay unit nights sold (Rand)	R330.18
Income from accommodation (R million)	R610.5m (70%)
Income from restaurant and bar sales (R million)	R183.5m (21%)
Other income (R million)	R 75.0m (9%)
Total income (R million)	R869.4m (100%)

Stats SA (Sample of 1 300 enterprises from a population of about 5 500)
Note: Stay unit refers to the unit of accommodation that is available to be charged out to guests, for example, a powered site in a caravan park or a room in a hotel.
Average income per stay unit night sold refers to average rate per stay unit i.e. rate per room in a hotel or powered site in a caravan site. The total income from accommodation divided by the number of stay units sold in a survey period multiplied by 1000.
Stay unit nights sold refers to the total number of stay units occupied on each night during the survey period.
In 2005, according to the above information, it is estimated that an average of 10 817 rooms were available in guesthouses, a total of 1.84 million room nights were sold, the average room night sold was R330.18, the average room occupancy rate was 38% and the total income generated by guesthouse accommodation was R611 million. Accommodation accounted for 70% of turnover.
Combining guest farm accommodation with guesthouse accommodation probably pulled down the average rate of a room night sold in guesthouses and also the average room occupancy rate. Therefore to benchmark the different rates offered in guesthouse accommodation, a sample has been taken of those guesthouses in the Eastern Cape included in the AA Accommodation Guide and the Portfolio Bed and Breakfast Collection. The accommodation guides compiled by these two cooperative marketing organisations will identify all the facilities offered by the listed advertisers.
The table below is an estimate of accommodation available in South Africa according to surveys undertaken by Grant Thornton in 1996 and 2004. According to these surveys, the number of guesthouses in South Africa increased by 35% between 1996 and 2004 i.e. an average growth rate of about 4% per annum. However, it is not possible to measure how many guesthouses closed down during this period because there is no national database of guesthouse accommodation.

A COMPARISON OF ACCOMMODATION GROWTH IN SA
Accommodation	Beds 2004	Beds 1996
Hotels	120 000	85 000
Resort & Self-catering	194 000	75 000
Guest Houses & Guest Farms	46 200	30 000
Bed & Breakfast	26 000	8 000
Game & Hunting Lodges	25 200	24 000
Timeshare	24 400	22 000
Executive Apartments	5 000	3 000
TOTAL	440 800	247 000

(Source: Grant Thornton surveys 1996 and 2004)

2.15.2 East Cape Guesthouses advertised AA Accommodation Guide 2005
There are only a few guesthouses in the Eastern Cape that are listed in the 2005 AA Accommodation Guide. These include:

Name of Guesthouse	No of Rooms	Average Rate	Place
The Thatch Guesthouse	5 rooms	R300 – R400 per person	East London
Devereux Lodge	12 rooms	R300 – R400 per room	East London
Quarry Lake Inn	16 rooms	R300 – R400 per person	East London
Hazeldene Guesthouse	5 rooms	R400 – R500 per room	Port Elizabeth
Sir Roy’s Guesthouse	10 rooms	R300 – R400 per person	Port Elizabeth

Commentary:
Accommodation offered at Quarry Lake Inn in East London provides a benchmark. The bill for a one night stay in a double room amounted to R588.00 i.e. Accommodation R560.00, Drinks/Beverages R28.00. Vat included @14.00% = R72.21
Establishments that advertise in acknowledged accommodation guides provide a good benchmark because they have to conform to a national standard. However, even if the standard is not a grading or accreditation certificate awarded by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa it can still be based on reputation e.g. AA Accommodation Guide has established its own standard of excellence.


2.15.3 Eastern Cape Guesthouses advertised in the Portfolio Bed & Breakfast Collection 2006

Name of Guesthouse	No of Rooms	Average Rate	Place
Admiralty Beach House	5 rooms + 2	R325 – R450 per person	Port Elizabeth
Anchorage Guest House	5 rooms	R295 + per person	Port Elizabeth
Carslogie House	4 rooms	R275 + per person	Port Elizabeth
Kingfisher Guest House	6 rooms	R250 + per person	Port Elizabeth
Lange’s Guest House	6 rooms	R220 – R340 per person	Port Elizabeth
Tiran Guest House	5 rooms + 2	R350 per room	Port Elizabeth
Conifer Beach House	4 rooms + 1	R220 – R300 per person	Port Elizabeth

All of the above would be categorised as guesthouses because they offer the option of other meals. If the establishment only offers breakfast then by definition it is a bed & breakfast regardless of whether it is luxury accommodation or not.

2.15.4 Port Elizabeth 5-Star Accommodation Establishments

Name of Establishment	Rooms	Beds	Rate
Lemon Tree Lane B&B	6	13	From R295 pp
Admiralty Beach House	7	19	R350 – R550 pp
Anchorage Guest House	5	14	From R350 pp
Hacklewood Hill Country House	8	16	R500 – R1320 pp
King’s Tide Boutique Hotel	10	20	R295 – R658 pp
The Windermere Hotel	8	16	R690 – R1265 pp

Grading:
Lemon Tree Lane TGCSA 5-Star Bed & Breakfast

Admiralty Beach House TGCSA 5-Star Guest House

Anchorage Guest House TGCSA 5-Star Bed & Breakfast

Hacklewood Hill Country House TGCSA 5-Star Hotel

The Windermere Hotel TGCSA 5-Star Hotel
Commentary:
With reference to the TGCSA grading system it would appear from the above that the difference between a 5-Star Guest House, Boutique Hotel, Country House and Small Hotel is marginal. The Anchorage Guest House is in fact graded as a B&B and Hacklewood Hill Country House is graded as a 5-Star Hotel. The Windermere Hotel would appear to be a Boutique Hotel and yet is graded as a 5-Star Hotel. King’s Tide Boutique Hotel does not appear to be graded.
3. EASTERN CAPE TOURISM: BENCHMARKS AND TRENDS

SA TOURISM QUARTERLY REPORTS 2004 - 2006 EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION
Quarters	Provincial Distribution (Visitors)	Provincial Distribution (Bed Nights)
Q1 2004	9.0%	917,681
Q2 2004	6.3%	784,864
Q3 2004	5.9%	816,563
Q4 2004	8.9%	950,072
TOTAL		3,469,180
Q1 2005	7.8%	948,778
Q2 2005	5.7%	754,971
Q3 2005	7.3%	833,718
Q4 2005	9.2%	1,238,363
TOTAL		3,775,830
Q1 2006	9.0%	1,233,708
Q2 2006	5.0%	953,195
Q3 2006	5.1%	856,998
Q4 2006
TOTAL

(Comparative tables compiled by the NMMU Tourism Research Unit)
Commentary:

• 
  Once again there has been a change in the system of reporting. The 2005 and 2006 SA Provincial Quarterly Reports only provide information on provincial distribution according to the percentage share of visitors attracted to each province and the number of bed nights spent by foreign tourists in each province
  
• 
  According to the above figures, there was an increase of 9% in bed nights spent in the Eastern Cape when comparing 2005 with 2004
  
• 
  It would appear from the above figures that to date 506,434 more bed nights have been spent in the Eastern Cape when comparing the first three quarters of 2006 with 2005. This is an increase of 20% over the previous year.
  
• 
  On average the Eastern Cape remains the 7^th most popular destination for foreign tourists and Q1 and Q4 remain the most popular quarters for foreign visitors (November to March)
  
• 
  It is assumed that Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) would follow a similar trend to the above Eastern Cape tourism growth statistics because previous SA Tourism Quarterly Reports have indicated that nearly 80% of all foreign tourists who visit the Eastern Cape visit NMB
  

PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION – VISITORS EASTERN CAPE
	2005	2004
Africa & Middle East	3%	2.3%
Lesotho	3%	2.6%
Malawi	10%	4.7%
Mozambique	7%	0.4%
Nigeria	7%	2.4%
Zambia	13%	4.2%
Zimbabwe	3%	6.0%
Other Africa & Middle East	7%	5.0%
Americas	16%	15.3%
Brazil	13%	5.8%
Canada	19%	20.4%
USA	16%	15.0%
Other Americas	16%	18.1%
Asia & Australasia	10%	10.5%
Australia	15%	16.7%
China	6%	7.5%
India	7%	7.1%
Other Asia & Australasia	11%	9.6%
Europe	24%	25.7%
France	23%	21.4%
Germany	29%	33.3%
Italy	24%	32.4%
Netherlands	27%	28.0%
Sweden	35%	34.8%
United Kingdom	20%	22.6%
Other Europe	22%	22.2%
All Foreign Tourists	8%	7.8%

(Analysis of SA Tourism Reports by NMMU Tourism Research Unit)
Commentary:
The figures in the above table do not represent market share but rather tourism growth from source markets e.g. the UK is the biggest supplier of foreign tourists to South Africa but only 20% of the foreign arrivals from the UK visit the Eastern Cape. Likewise Sweden is not the biggest source market to the Eastern Cape in numbers but of all the Swedish foreign arrivals to South Africa some 35% visit the Eastern Cape which is an indication that the province is popular with Swedish tourists.

4. ANALYSIS OF DOMESTIC TOURISM IN SOUTH AFRICA