Has SA reverted to a two-centre destination?

Once a country that proudly offered a wide array of “Smartie box” tourism offerings, industry experts now fear South Africa has reverted to a two-centre destination post-pandemic with Cape Town and Kruger National Park capturing the lion’s share of tourism. Without concerted, industry-wide efforts to address this, the sector’s growth will be constrained.

Speaking during a SATSA webinar on the urgent need for geographical spread in tourism, CEO David Frost said the sector has not recovered as well as many believe because the true performance is masked by excitement about Cape Town and Kruger. He said narrow focus on these attractions imposes an “artificial ceiling” on the sector’s ability to grow and create jobs.

Sluggish…