South Africa’s tourism industry has long identified geographic spread as a key opportunity to increase the value of international arrivals, encouraging visitors to explore multiple provinces during their trips rather than concentrating their time in a single destination.
However, new data from SA Tourism shows that most international travellers still visit only one province during their stay, highlighting ongoing barriers to selling multi-province itineraries.
In response to last week’s Tourism Update poll, nearly a third of readers (32.4%) said better flight connectivity would be most helpful for selling multi-province itineraries. Another 26.5% pointed to improved road infrastructure.
Other respondents highlighted greater consistency in tourism product (17.6%) and more diversity of tourism product outside hubs (10.3%). Only 7.4% cited longer length of stay and 5.9% said other factors were at play.
Who absorbs rising fuel costs?
Rising oil prices linked to conflict in the Middle East are placing pressure on the tourism value chain with operators warning that sustained increases could push up the cost of travel.
As reported by Tourism Update, ground transport operators and airlines are already feeling the impact as fuel prices rise. While some airlines have introduced fuel surcharges or adjusted fares, many ground operators remain locked into contracted rates for 2026 and may have to absorb the increases for now.
Our poll question this week is:
