MZANZI ISSUE 16

News & Information
Airbnb economic impact
exceeds $685m for SA
in 2018
Johannesburg - According to new survey
findings and an analysis of internal data
released recently, Airbnb’s host and guest
community generated over US$100 billion
in estimated direct economic impact across
30 countries in 2018 alone. During that
same year, the estimated direct economic
impact of Airbnb in South Africa was
more than $685 million – or over R9.7
billion. “Travel on Airbnb is helping to
spread tourism benefits to more families,
communities and local businesses,” says
Velma Corcoran, Airbnb Country Manager
for Sub-Saharan Africa. “It’s never been
easier to travel to and stay in South Africa’s
smaller towns.” Locally, there has been a
significant increase in host earnings on
Airbnb in smaller towns. Mossel Bay, for
example, saw a year-on-year increase of
over 80%, while Saldanha Bay in the Cape
saw an increase of almost 60% over the
same period. Host earnings in Garden
Route towns such as Knysna, Plettenberg
Bay and George increased by 48%, 58%
and 74%, respectively.
Source: www.tourismupdate.co.za
South African passport holders can now visit 100
destinations without a visa
Pretoria - South African passport holders
can now visit 100 destinations without
having to get a visa beforehand. The
SA passport has also moved up one
notch to 53rd position on the latest
Henley Passport Index released this
week. Regionally, Seychelles (26th
position globally), Mauritius (30) and
South Africa (53) remain the top three
passports on the index. The index is
based on data from the International Air
Transport Association (IATA). According
to the index report, sub-Saharan African
states are moving to liberalise their visa
regimes in accordance with the goals
of the African Continental Free Trade
Agreement (AfCFTA). According to
Amanda Smit, managing partner and
head of South, East and Central Africa
of Henley & Partners, the latest countries
to relax their visa regimes are Namibia
and Sierra Leone, both of which now
offer visa-on-arrival access to a number
of African states. Globally Japan and
Singapore retain the first place on index,
each with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival
score of 190 out of a maximum 227.
With visa-free or visa-on-arrival scores of
188, Finland, Germany, and South Korea
remain in second place, while Denmark,
Italy, and Luxembourg are in third place,
with citizens of those countries now able
to access 187 destinations worldwide
without requiring a visa in advance. The
UAE has climbed five places over the
last three months after gaining visa-free
access to a number of African countries,
including South Africa, and now sits in
15th place, with UAE passport holders
able to access 172 destinations without
a prior visa.
Source: Carin Smith, Fin24
South Africa Tourism seeks
boost from Canada
Toronto - South Africa tourism officials
recently went on a mission to Canada where
representatives from Destination South Africa
met with agents and travel media journalists
in Toronto as part of a cross-continent tour
to drum up more visitors. Faced with a 30%
unemployment rate, government officials
in South Africa are hoping to double their
visitation numbers between now and 2030;
an ambitious goal. “The travel trade and travel
media are critical” if that goal is to be reached,
said Sthembiso Dlamini, acting director, South
African Tourism. “South Africa is an amazing
destination and has an amazing story to tell,”
she said at a downtown Toronto roundtable.
“Boosting tourism is at the top of the government
agenda.” Some 68,000 Canadians visited South
Africa in 2018. Tourism officials want to boost
that to 200,000 by 2030 if they can. One key
likely is establishing direct flights between
Canada and South Africa, something that
doesn’t now exist but that they’re working
on. South African Airways and Air Canada
are potential partners, officials said, but they
need to stimulate demand before the airlines
set up new flights.
Source: Jim Byers, Travel Pulse Canada
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