'Bad things are happening': Americans ignore Trump, lead surge in South African tourism
visitors from the United States have now overtaken those from the United Kingdom.
Image: Armand Hough /Independent Newspapers
Despite US President Donald Trump's claims that bad things are happening in South Africa, visitors from the United States have now overtaken those from the United Kingdom.
This was revealed by Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille, who said that flights from Washington and Newark to Cape Town and Johannesburg are fully booked, with airlines even considering adding more frequencies.
"They are now ahead of the United Kingdom, which has led Denmark for many years. We've seen an increase in the number of flights between Washington, Newark, Cape Town and Johannesburg," de Lille said in an interview with the SABC.
"And those flights are fully booked. In fact, they are looking for more frequencies. So as far as tourism is concerned, you know, whatever happened in the geopolitical space had no impact on tourism".
South Africa and the US have been at loggerheads for several months now, with Trump falsely accusing South Africa of committing a genocide against white people, a move South Africa has vehemently denied.
He also alleged that the government was confiscating white-owned land without compensation, despite there being no official statistics or evidence to support his assertions
The US also boycotted the G20 Summit last week in Johannesburg and attempted to send only a junior delegation for the handover ceremony, a move South Africa also rejected. International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said the US would need to collect the G20 presidency from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) offices.
De Lille said that geopolitical tensions have not dented tourism growth, with the sector already seeing over 1 million additional tourists in the past nine months.
De Lille added that geopolitical tensions have not dented tourism growth, with the sector already seeing over 1 million additional tourists in the past nine months.
"Just in the past nine months, we've grown by more than 1.0 million tourists. And the more tourists come, the more jobs we can create".
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