- South Africans, Americans the most visitors to Botswana
- Overseas visitors came to Botswana on holiday/leisure
- A lot of South Africans came to see friends and relatives
- Zimbabweans made up 32.3% of all visitors to Botswana
GAZETTE REPORTER
Botswana experienced a surge in international tourism during the first quarter of 2024, with the United States the leading source of overseas visitors.
According to a recent report by Statistics Botswana titled “International Visitor Arrivals Stats Brief, 2024 Quarter 1,” the USA accounted for 30.0 percent of all tourists from the top 10 overseas countries, equating to 10,002 visitors.
Germany and the United Kingdom followed, contributing 19.7 percent (6,572 tourists) and 14.9 percent (4,971 tourists) respectively.
Chinese the fewest
In stark contrast, China provided the fewest number of tourists among the top 10 overseas countries, with just 3.0 percent (988 visitors).
The report highlighted that the primary reason for visiting Botswana among tourists from these countries was Holiday/Leisure, representing a substantial 84.6 percent (28,227) of the 33,370 tourists.
The second most popular reason was Transit, which accounted for 6.4 percent (2,136 tourists).
SADC region
Tourism from key African countries, primarily from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, was even more significant.
These countries accounted for 81.7 percent (218,723 tourists) of the total visitors. South Africa was the top contributor with 39.0 percent (85,745 visitors), followed by Zimbabwe at 32.3 percent (70,884 visitors), and Zambia at 16.2 percent (35,498 visitors).
“South African tourists primarily visit for holiday and leisure,” the report stated, noting that 65.5 percent (10,822 visitors) of South Africans came for these reasons.
In comparison, a significant portion of visitors from Zimbabwe, 59.3 percent (11,635 tourists), were categorised under “Other” purposes.
Most in March
Visitors from South Africa also dominated in categories such as Visiting Friends and Relatives (53.8 percent, 30,119 visitors) and Business (52.0 percent, 22,754 visitors).
In total, Botswana received 267,805 visitors in the first quarter of 2024. March was the busiest month, recording 38.8 percent (101,774 visitors) of the total arrivals. January and February saw 34.4 percent (92,136 visitors) and 27.6 percent (73,895 visitors) respectively.
The majority of tourists came from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, accounting for 32.0 percent (85,745 visitors), 26.5 percent (70,884 visitors), and 13.3 percent (35,498 visitors) of the total arrivals respectively.
Ramokgwebana border post
Notably, many visitors from Zimbabwe (42.0 percent, 29,775 tourists) and Zambia (59.2 percent, 21,029 tourists) were in transit.
Regarding modes of entry, most tourists travelled by road, with Ramokgwebana Road Border Post being the busiest at 14.5 percent (38,911 visitors). Kazungula Bridge Border Post followed closely at 14.3 percent (38,330 visitors).
Sir Seretse Khama International Airport was the busiest airport, receiving 3.4 percent (9,173 visitors) of the total arrivals.