An increasing number of people are choosing to take their holidays in South Africa, new figures have shown.
An increasing number of people are choosing to take their holidays in South Africa, new figures have shown.
Marthinus van Schalkwyk, minister of environmental affairs and tourism, has revealed that more than 9.5 million foreign tourists visited the country in 2008, up from just over nine million in 2007.
This was a growth of five per cent, with the amount of money generated by these visitors growing accordingly by 23.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the average length of stay for people on holidays to South Africa was found to be 8.2 nights per visitor.
Mr van Schalkwyk said he is optimistic that the country will see ten million tourist arrivals in 2010.
“The South African industry continued to perform well in spite of pressures exerted by the global financial crisis,” he added.
British people may have been encouraged to book holidays to South Africa because of the strength of the pound against the rand in recent months, meaning that travellers will get more for their money.
