Jozi makes billions through tourism

The City of Gold rakes in billions of rands from international tourism.

According to the 2016 Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index (which ranks cities in terms of the number of their total international overnight visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending), Jozi is expected to have welcomed 3.6 million international overnight visitors this year, a 6.2 per cent increase on last year’s 3.39 million visitors.

“Tourism remains an important driver of South Africa’s economy and the steady rise in visitor numbers indicates how the City of Gold’s fascinating mix of iconic attractions is proving ever more compelling to today’s international traveller,” said Mark Elliott, Mastercard South Africa’s division president.

“Visitor spending is an increasingly important source of revenue for the city’s hospitality, retail, transport, sports and cultural sectors,” he emphasised.

The 13 African cities ranked in the Index are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Cairo, Casablanca, Accra, Nairobi, Beira, Dakar, Kampala, Lagos, Maputo and Tunis.

Of Johannesburg’s expected international overnight visitors, 373 000 will have travelled from London this year. Harare, Frankfurt, Maputo and Paris round off the list of the top five cities that send visitors to Johannesburg. Only 18 per cent of Johannesburg’s international visitors are from outside the Middle East and Africa regions.

Johannesburg also comes out tops in Africa in terms of international visitor expenditure, with travellers expected to spend more than R25 billion this year.

According to the City of Johannesburg, the index rating affirms Johannesburg’s position as the economic capital and heartbeat of trade and economic activity on the African continent.

“As the strong number of visitors from our neighbouring countries shows, Johannesburg is one of the continent’s most important business, cultural and economic hubs. Tourism is a priority industry for us and a pillar of our economic growth strategy for the years ahead,” said City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Herman Mashaba.

“The index confirms Johannesburg’s status as a destination that attracts repeat visits due to its continually evolving tourism offering, from popular shopping destinations such as our malls to a wide range of lifestyle, sporting and business events.”

Cape Town and Durban are ranked number three and eight in terms of expenditure in Africa, with international visitors expected to spend more than R14 billion and R4 billion respectively.

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