International tourist flows and urban tourism in South Africa

Based on data on international tourism arrivals as released by the Strategic Research Unit of South African Tourism (2005), the authors analyse international tourist flows in South Africa and illustrate the central role of urban places in the local tourism system. First, they argue that the types of impacts that international tourists hold for the South African tourism system are linked to whether these tourists are sourced from other continents (i.e. overseas), or are regional tourists from Africa. Next, they provide a comparative analysis of the importance of urban centres for these two distinctive segments of South Africa’s international tourism economy. An understanding of the differences between overseas and regional tourists is of special significance in terms of policy and planning for urban tourism. Bibliogr. [ASC Leiden abstract]