ESWATINI TOURIST ARRIVALS DROP BY 5.1%

MBABANE – Eswatini tourism experienced a 5.1 per cent overall decline in foreign visitor arrivals in 2018.

Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA) Research and Statistics Officer Sebenzile Ginindza disclosed that foreign visitor arrivals to the Kingdom of Eswatini during 2018 recorded a total  of 1.277 million, reflecting a decline of 5.1 per cent when compared to 2017.

She explained that the lacklustre performance in visitor figures was mainly attributed to dampened demand for leisure travel as consumers reprioritised household expenditures for varying reasons, which include lowered disposable household income, cyclical nature of leisure travel preferences and economic uncertainties within source markets.

Significant

Eswatini’s key markets; South Africa (-2.2 per cent), Mozambique (-9.3 per cent), Germany (-6.0 per cent), Netherlands (-25.1 per cent), France (-25.4 per cent), United Kingdom (-15.7 per cent) and United States of America (-14.5 per cent) all registered significant declines during the period in review.
“Globally, 2018 was depicted by economic uncertainties, political tensions and lowered household disposable incomes, which when combined had adverse effects on travel and tourism. She said Eswatini was no exception as well. 

The ETA officer pointed out that neighbouring South Africa and Mozambique had historically remained Eswatini’s main source markets with both accounting for an annual average 77 per cent of total arrivals.
It was mentioned that in 2018, South Africa was confronted with varied strains which comprised of a 0.7 per cent contraction in the country’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the second quarter; downgrading of credit rating to junk status by Ratings Agencies Fitch and S&P Global; amendments to the tax bracket; increases in electricity tariffs and persistent increases in fuel prices in the later months of the year.

The combination of these obstacles culminated into a direct exertion of pressure on non-essential expenditures. Consequently, re-adjustments in spending habits was noted which resulted in slowed-down outbound leisure travel.
On the other hand, Ginindza said the last three years had seen the roll-out of infrastructural developments in Maputo which improved the profile of Mozambique in terms of accessibility.

              

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