Total tourist arrivals in South Africa dropped 2.1% from January to September this year, compared with the same period in 2018, according to Statistics South Africa.
The country received about 7,6 million international tourists in the first nine months of the year compared with 7,7 million tourists, a year earlier.
The decline was attributed to fewer arrivals from Australasia and Europe.
South African Tourism Minister Mamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said in a statement that the major impact on the numbers has been the concerns around safety and security of the tourist in the country.
“We will at the beginning of December jointly with our stakeholders announce our tourism safety strategy and the implementation plans as a response to the concerns raised by our key markets,” she said.
Kubayi-Ngubane said they are committed to reaching the target of 21 million arrivals by 2030 and are working with all the stakeholders in the sector to make this a reality.
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