INAUGURAL TOURISM SATELLITE ACCOUNT LAUNCHED

INAUGURAL TOURISM SATELLITE ACCOUNT LAUNCHED AT INDABA

Tourism directly contributed 3% to gross domestic product (GDP) and employed more than 500 000 people in 2005, the Inaugural Tourism Satellite Account, launched at this year’s Tourism Indaba in Durban, shows. The INDABA Tourism Fair is the largest tourism event in Africa and takes place annually in South Africa. 

The launch of the Tourism Satellite Account has been long awaited as until now tourism has not been separately counted in the GDP figures which are released quarterly. The satellite account is a United Nations (UN) World Travel Organisation-approved tool that measures the full effect of tourism on the country’s economy. Currently tourism, which cuts across many sectors of the economy, is estimated to have an overall contribution of about 8,4% of GDP.  

Didi Moyle, acting CEO of SA Tourism, welcomed the launch of the satellite account, saying that this is the first step and provided a base year from which later reports would flow. The next report is expected in two to three years. “This will allow us to measure our global competitiveness, which we have never been able to do before,” said Moyle.  

The project had been seven years in the planning and was important in measuring the full effect of the tourism sector. Tourism’s direct contribution to the country's GDP was estimated at about 3,5% in 2008.  

Key contributors to tourism were accommodation at 22%, and road transport at 20%. Air transport only contributed about 11% and food and beverage consumption a mere 1,8%.  

The 2010 Soccer World Cup was the focus of this year’s Tourism Indaba and took centre stage at this year’s Global Media Faceoff, moderated by CNN’s Richard Quest, where Local Organising Committee CEO Danny Jordaan, assured delegates that the country was ready for 2010.

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