Tourists start travelling again

There are signs that South Africans are starting to travel again – along with the latest results of the TBCSA FNB Tourism Business Index (TBI) which shows a “marked improvement” in business performance for the last quarter of 2011.

“Considering that the index had been on a steady decline since the start of 2011, it is encouraging to see that we have ended the year on a more positive note and we hope that this is a trend that will continue in 2012, despite the on-going economic hurdles,” says Mmatsatsi Marobe, chief executive officer of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA).

“The surge in domestic leisure business over the festive season and the recent hosting of COP17 have provided a much needed boost to business performance in quarter four of 2011, but the index also indicates that industry still has a realistic view of the challenges that lie ahead” says Gillian Saunders, head of advisory services at Grant Thornton.

Marobe urged the private sector to “go a little further” in catering for the domestic and regional markets, by actively engaging these markets and developing suitable packages which still offer value for money. “At this point, renewed focus on these markets might just be industry’s solution for sustaining growth in the long-term” she said.

The TBI registered a performance index of 87.3 in quarter four of 2011, against an expected industry index of 80.7 and an actual index of 70.0 for the previous quarter. This report also marks the first anniversary of the index.

The TBCSA FNB Tourism Business Index is an initiative of the TBCSA. It is sponsored by First National Bank (FNB) and compiled by Grant Thornton.

The TBI provides a national indication of the current and future performance, across the various businesses operating within the South African travel and tourism sector.

In the latest survey, both sub-indices (accommodation and other tourism business sectors) performed better than was anticipated.

With the results of the accommodation sector showing a near return to normal operating levels. However expected business performance is still a modest 82.2 for the first quarter of 2012.

Pieter de Bruin, Head of Industry Sales at FNB says, “The latest result of the TBI again shows that there are always different cycles in business, such is the importance of South Africa being an events destination and having a healthy domestic tourism market.

We trust that this may be the first sign of the industry making the turn into positive territory.

“When we launched the TBI project in 2010, one of the key objectives was to develop a business tool which would produce relevant information that will assist us to map out a clear picture of general ‘health’ in our industry says Marobe.

“At this point the index is showing positive signs of progress; however it also highlights the important role that the domestic and regional markets can play in boosting tourism trade.”