South Africa's tourism industry remains "buoyant", despite a drop in arrivals from some foreign markets, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Monday.
Speaking in Cape Town at the opening of the Local Government Tourism Indaba, he said the latest figures for foreign arrivals showed a 5,4 percent increase last year from January to October. The figure for 2007 was 8,3 percent.
"Despite the realities presented by the economic slowdown, 2008 remained a buoyant year for the South African tourism industry.
"As we examine the statistics for the first 10 months of 2008, we have to note that we have begun to see some decreases in the month-on-month figures when comparing 2008 to 2007.
"Arrivals from North America remained stable compared to October 2007, and we saw increases in arrivals from Australasia (6,3 percent) and the Middle East (5,9 percent).
"We however experienced decreases in arrivals of 6,5 percent from Europe and 4,6 percent from Central and South America."
Van Schalkwyk said he remained confident the target of 10 million visitors in 2010 would be reached. The nine million mark was passed in 2007.
"Our country continues to be a value-for-money destination, and with international events like the Confederations Cup and World Cup lined up, there will be opportunities in abundance and tourism will retain the important role it plays in our economic growth," he said. - Sapa