An overview of the tourism industry in south africa

4.1 A Cautionary Tale

In 2005, a methodological error was found in the calculation of the value of the domestic tourism market. The 2003 domestic tourism report has been revised with the correct data. Quarterly domestic tourism reports were introduced in 2005 to measure and track the domestic tourism market. The report provides information on the number of domestic tourism trips, the value of the domestic market and other behavioural information on domestic tourist patterns.

Growth in domestic tourism is almost impossible to measure accurately because nearly 70% of domestic tourists stay with friends and relatives. Domestic tourism surveys conducted every two or three years differ in the methodology used and some results have been skewed in the past by confusing returning migrant workers with visiting friends and relatives.
The latest survey conducted in 2003 is perhaps one of the more reliable surveys ever undertaken even though there was a margin of error in the value calculation. According to this survey some 49,400,000 domestic tourism trips were undertaken in South Africa during 2003. Perhaps the most significant measurement was that four provinces in South Africa accounted for 70% of the total number of domestic tourism trips i.e. KZN (28%), Gauteng (17%), Eastern Cape (15%) and Western Cape (11%).
The surveys do not measure how many domestic tourism trips are made to cities. It is assumed that cities would attract the greatest number of domestic tourism trips because over 50% of South Africa’s population live in cities.