South African tourism accommodation industry revenues up

Third quarter accommodation spend up 4.4 per cent compared with 2016 – numbers slightly down, but people are spending more

Sean Osterloh

2017-12-13 11:35:07

*The Point Hotel, Mossel Bay, Western Cape, South Africa*

Income from accommodation in South Africa increased by 4.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 compared with the third quarter of 2016.

Total income for the tourist accommodation industry rose 1.8 per cent in September from a year earlier, according to the latest Stats SA figures.

The industry made R2.08bn ($150m) in September‚ compared with R1.927bn ($141m) in September last year.

Income from accommodation — which excludes restaurant and bar sales and other income — was 3.8 per cent higher than a year ago, as a 5.4 per cent increase in the average income per stay unit nights sold more than made up for a 1.5 per cent fall in the number of stay unit nights sold.

The types of accommodation that recorded the largest year-on-year growth in income in September were caravan parks and camping sites (up 52 per cent)‚ guesthouses and guest farms (10.3 per cent)‚ and “other” accommodation (9.8 per cent.)

The statistics show that income from accommodation increased by 4.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 compared with the third quarter of 2016.