The information below was extracted from available data as at 25 February 2013, writes Martin Jansen van Vuuren.
ARRIVALS
The latest available data from Statistics South Africa is for January to October 2012:
| Current period | Change over same period last year | |
| UK | 350 590 | 5% |
| Germany | 204 247 | 12.2% |
| USA | 275 683 | 14.6% |
| India | 87 906 | 16.8% |
| China | 108 151 | 62.8% |
| Overseas Arrivals (excl same day visitors) | 2 020 631 | 16.5% |
| African Arrivals | 5 493 605 | 8.4% |
| Total Foreign Arrivals | 7 535 498 | 10.4% |
NB: African Arrivals plus Overseas Arrivals do not add to Total Foreign Arrivals due to the exclusion of unspecified arrivals, which could not be allocated to either African or Overseas.
HOTEL STATS
The latest available data from STR Global is for January to December 2012:
| Current period | Average Room Occupancy |
Average Room Rate |
Revenue Per Available Room |
| All Hotels in SA | 59.8% | R 888 | R 531 |
| All 5-star hotels in SA | 58.1% | R 1 580 | R 917 |
| All 4-star hotels in SA | 59.8% | R 855 | R 511 |
| All 3-star hotels in SA | 59.8% | R 715 | R 427 |
| Change over same period last year | |||
| All Hotels in SA | 6.4% | 3.9% | 10.5% |
| All 5-star hotels in SA | 10.0% | 1.9% | 12.1% |
| All 4-star hotels in SA | 7.2% | 3.8% | 11.3% |
| All 3-star hotels in SA | 4.6% | 4.6% | 9.4% |
ACSA DATA
The latest available data from ACSA is for January to December 2012:
| Change over same period last year | Passengers arriving on International Flights |
Passengers arriving on Regional Flights | Passengers arriving on Domestic Flights |
| OR Tambo International | 2.0% | -9.1% | -3.8% |
| Cape Town International | -0.2% | 13.7% | 0.5% |
| King Shaka International | 14.0% | N/A | -6.7% |
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MY BUSINESS
The Statistics SA data and STR Global continue to indicate growth in arrivals and an improvement in hotel performance.
However, the ACSA data indicates a decline in domestic flights in particular with the impact of the closure of 1Time probably being the main reason. Passengers arriving on International Flights to Cape Town have also declined due to SAA’s decision to stop direct flights between Cape Town and London.
For more information contact Martin at Grant Thornton on +27 (0)21 417 8838 or visit: http://www.gt.co.za.
