Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) has unveiled the findings of the 2022 Domestic Tourism Survey (DTS). These findings encompass the total number of day and overnight trips taken during the 12-month period, spanning from January to December in both 2021 and 2022. In 2021, around 16.0 million day trips and 10.9 million overnight trips were recorded. Furthermore, the results reveal that in 2022, there were 33.1 million day trips and 23.2 million overnight trips undertaken within South Africa.
The overall expenditure on domestic trips in 2021 amounted to approximately R36.4 billion. This amount comprised day trip spending, which totalled approximately R23.8 billion, and spending on overnight trips, which stood at R12.6 billion. Conversely, the total expenditure on domestic trips in 2022 reached approximately R41.2 billion, with day trip spending accounting for about R25.3 billion and overnight trip spending reaching R15.9 billion.
Gauteng emerged as the preferred destination for day travellers in both years, with 18.8% in 2021 and 20.3% in 2022. In 2021, the Eastern Cape followed with 12.8%, while in 2022, the second most visited province was the Western Cape at 16.1%, followed by Limpopo at 14.3%. The results also indicate that in 2021, tourists, defined as people undertaking overnight trips, predominantly favoured visiting Limpopo (20.3%), Gauteng (15.1%), and KwaZulu-Natal (14.9%). In 2022, the data suggests the Western Cape was the most visited province for overnight trips at 15.8%, followed by Limpopo at 14.9% and KwaZulu-Natal at 14.7%.
In 2022, ‘shopping’ and ‘visiting friends and relatives’ were cited as the main reasons for visiting by approximately 35.3 million and 21.7 million travellers, respectively. Most day travellers and tourists were inclined to use cars and taxis as their preferred modes of transportation to reach their destinations.
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