South Africa reports record increases in US tourist arrivals for the four straight months with the number of visitors doubling the normal level in June.
“The healthy August arrivals also indicate that South Africa’s traditional consumers were waiting to visit until after the World Cup — a very positive trend which bodes well for the destination through the rest of the year,” according to South African Tourism.
These positive increases bring South Africa’s year-to-date arrivals through August 2010 to 193,317, a growth of 26 percent over this same period in 2009.
The United States was the largest purchaser of tickets to the World Cup after the host nation, South Africa.
“These numbers confirm what we believed all along –- that tourism would be one of the key beneficiaries of the successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” said Sthu Zungu, President, South African Tourism, North America.
He said the destination is well on its way to meeting its target of 10 million visitor arrivals for 2010.
By David Wilkening
