Growth in tourism, food and beverages industry

Cape Town – While the tourism and food and beverages industries have seen an increase in income year-on-year (y/y), the volume of goods transported decreased, according to statistics released on Monday.

Tourism boost

Statistics SA said total income in nominal terms for the tourist accommodation industry rose by 7.2% in April 2015 compared with April 2014.

“Income from accommodation increased by 8.4% y/y in April 2015, the result of a 0.5% decrease in the number of stay unit nights sold and a 9% increase in the average income per stay unit night sold,” it said.

In April 2015, the types of accommodation that recorded the highest y/y growth rates in income from accommodation were caravan parks and camping sites (44.6%) and hotels (8.9%), Stats SA said.

“The main contributors to the 8.4% y/y increase in income from accommodation in April 2015 were hotels (contributing 5.4 percentage points) and other accommodation (contributing 2.1 percentage points).”

Food and beverages income up

Total income in nominal terms generated by the food and beverages industry increased by 8.1% in April 2015 compared with April 2014, Stats SA said in a separate report.

Positive annual growth rates were recorded for food sales (9.5%) and bar sales (0.2%).

“In April 2015, the highest annual growth rate was recorded for takeaway and fast food outlets (13.3%),” Stats SA said.

Total income lifted 8.1% in the three months ended April 2015 compared with the three months ended April 2014. The main contributors to this increase were takeaway and fast food outlets (11%), and restaurants and coffee shops (6.1%).

Freight and passenger transport drops

Bad news from Stats SA was that the volume of goods transported decreased by 7% in April 2015 compared with April 2014. The corresponding income fell by 4.1% over the same period.

“Income from freight transportation increased by 0.7% in the three months ended April 2015 compared with the three months ended April 2014,” said Stats SA. “The main contributor to this increase was primary mining and quarrying products (2.1%).”

Stats SA also said the number of passenger journeys dropped by 2.9% in April 2015 compared with April 2014. The corresponding income increased by 3.9% over the same period.