Attracting Indian Outbound Tourists to South Africa: A BRICS Perspective

Abstract

South Africa in the post-1994 era has experienced phenomenal growth in foreign tourism. The Tourism White Paper (1996) had noted that South Africa missed its tourism opportunity because of the country’s troubled past. The rapid economic growth experienced by the BRICS countries has changed the face of international tourism. The tourism destinations have moved from developed to developing countries. In this context, the article highlights that South Africa enjoys 2.6 per cent of the lucrative Indian outbound tourism market. This market share has the potential to be increased. India has been added to South African Tourism’s (SAT’s) Core Markets List. A longitudinal analysis from foreign arrivals indicates two things, one, that India remains the top Asian foreign arrivals country, represented by 71,587 arrivals in 2010, and two, that India remains resilient to hold to its number one spot in Asian foreign arrivals to South Africa. South Africa must gear itself up to encourage the trend.