December total tourist accommodation industry income up 11.1%
Total income for SA’s tourist accommodation industry rose by 11.1% year on year (y/y) in nominal terms (current prices) in December 2013‚ Statistics SA’s tourist accommodation survey showed.
The survey‚ released on Monday‚ is conducted monthly and covers a sample of public and private enterprises involved in the short-stay accommodation industry‚ with the results used to compile estimates of tourism satellite accounts as well as the gross domestic product.
Income from accommodation increased by 17.9% y/y in December 2013‚ the result of a 5.9% increase in the number of stay unit nights sold and an 11.3% increase in the average income per stay unit night sold. Stats SA describes a stay unit as a unit of accommodation available to be charged out to guests. Examples include a powered site in a caravan park or a hotel room.
The main contributors to the 17.9% y/y increase in income from accommodation in December 2013 were hotels‚ contributing 11.7 percentage points .
A recently released Tourism Business Council SA-FNB tourism business index showed that tourism growth during the last quarter of 2013 exceeded expectations by reaching 114.6 points compared with a forecast of 110.8.
FNB business head of Tourism Wiza Nyondo said the weaker rand would have a positive effect on inbound tourism by making SA competitive against other countries as a holiday destination.
“However‚ in the medium to longer term‚ it is undeniable that the negative side effects of the depreciation could erode these gains through ... increased fuel cost and food prices in the economy‚” Nyondo said.
The types of accommodation that recorded the highest y/y growth rates in income from accommodation were caravan parks and camping sites (51.1%) and hotels (20.3%).
Income from accommodation increased by 14.3% in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared with the fourth quarter of 2012‚ with the contributors to this increase being hotels (rising 14.5% and contributing 9.1 percentage points). © BDlive 2013
