Natalie Cowling
Research Expert South Africa
Hotel industry in South Africa - statistics & facts
South Africa is known for its excellent tourist infrastructure, with incredible coastal lines, cities, and nature. The country offers a wide choice of accommodations, from luxury game lodges and hotels to bed and breakfasts and self-catering establishments. The majority of the tourists visiting South Africa in January 2024 were from the African continent. Those originating from Europe and North America followed. Comparing these figures to 2023, there has been a significant increase in tourists arriving in South Africa. This was mainly due to COVID-19 being in a post-pandemic state, resulting in a positive effect on hotel accommodations.
Post-pandemic recovery of hotels
After the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill, the future did not look too bright for the hotel sector. But since countries opened their doors to travelers again, the industry is slowly recovering. In South Africa, the number of available hotel rooms remained relatively stable in 2021 compared to the previous year. Approximately 69,500 hotel rooms were available in 2021, against 69,600 in 2020. However, the impact and recovery of the pandemic were more evident in the occupancy rate of hotel rooms. In 2019, hotels in South Africa registered an occupancy rate of around 50 percent. In 2020, the rate dropped significantly to 19.2 percent, while in 2021, it slightly increased again to 23 percent. In 2022, occupancy rates were slowly back to their pre-pandemic levels. Accommodations in Cape Town, for example, reached an occupancy of 53 percent in June 2023. Additionally, most stay unit nights of hotel accommodations in South Africa were sold in December 2023. The volume of unit nights sold remained relatively steady, however, there were slight fluctuations observed.Income increased gradually
In 2024, the average income per stay unit night sold of hotel accommodations in South Africa remained steady and generally increased each month with a few fluctuations. In May the same year, the revenue per stay unit reached a peak. Similar results were seen in the total income of hotel accommodations; Between January 2023 and May 2024, the revenue generally increased, with the highest value being registered in January 2024.Most hotel reservations were booked online
The majority of the tourists visiting South Africa booked their hotel accommodations online. As of 2024, nearly 66 percent of hotel room reservations were made online, whereas over 34 percent were made offline. Furthermore, according to Statista Consumer Insights, 66 percent of South African consumers booked their hotel or private accommodation through Booking.com. Nearly 35 percent used Trivago, whereas 32 percent chose Airbnb to book accommodations.
