South Africa security concerns diminishing, says TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor has found travellers to South Africa are less concerned with safety and security and more concerned with experiences.

In research conducted by the travel review website, conversations about South African travel centred upon luxury and food.

“Increasingly the topic of security and crime are going down,” Tripadvisor head of destination marketing Helena Egan said.

This conclusion was reached by comparison between 2013 and 2014.

South Africa Tourism chief executive Thulani Nzima said this is a reflection of traveller’s ability to assess safety issues.

“People are beginning to contextualize criminal matters, labour related matters and social matters,” Nzima said.

“Travellers are separating the country’s experience from those for the tourist experiences,” Nzima said.

South African economist Mike Schlusser agreed with this separation but said it still affects perceptions.

“And perceptions are the realities when people book,” Schlusser said.