SA’s tourist accommodation records 95% increase in October

Statistics SA data shows that income from the accommodation industry increased by 95.5% in October 2021, when compared with October 2020.

The results are from a monthly tourist accommodation industry survey, which covers a sample of public and
private business involved in the short-stay accommodation industry in South Africa.

The survey covers tax registered private and public enterprises that provide short-stay commercial accommodation. These include:

• Hotels, motels, boatels and inns
• Caravan parks and camping sites
• Guest houses and guest farms
• Other accommodation

Accommodation from sales increased by 52.9% year-on-year in October 2021, which represents a 37.5% increase in the number of stay unit nights sold and an 11.2% increase in the average income per stay unit night sold.

In October 2021, positive contributors to the 52.9% year-on-year increase in holiday accommodation sales were:

• 77.2% from hotels
• 33.95% from other accommodation
• 51.6% from guest houses and guest farms

Income from accommodation increased by 75.7% in the three months ended October 2021, compared with the three months ended October 2020.

The main contributors to this increase were:

• hotels (101.7%)
• Other accommodation (50.5%)

Seasonally adjusted income from accommodation increased by 2.2% month-on-month in October 2021.

Positive month-on-month growth rates were recorded for: 

• Caravan parks and camping sites (16.9%)
• Hotels (10.5%)

The tourism industry has had a hard time during the Covid-19 pandemic, after travel bans and restrictions had to be put in place to ensure that countries and cities were doing their best to stop the spread of the virus.

Africa has been particularly hard hit after South African scientists correctly identified the newest variant, Omicron, that is fuelling the fourth wave of infections across the globe.

Several countries reinstated travel bans to and from the continent, plunging the tourism sector into chaos ahead of this years festive season.

Pleas from the World Health Organization and African leaders for these countries to base their decision on science and not fear have fallen on deaf ears.

It is up to the domestic tourism economy to keep the industry afloat this year.

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