Pretoria - KwaZulu-Natal remains the province of preference for domestic travel, the second Statistics SA domestic tourism survey revealed on Tuesday.

The province generated 21.2% of tourist arrivals in general and had the highest proportion of overnight trips with 22.7%, the survey found.

It was conducted between December 2008 and February 2009 with 12 339 households interviewed using questionnaires.

Gauteng was the most visited province on day trips, while the Western Cape was the preferred destination on overnight trips for leisure or holiday purposes, accounting for 60% of those surveyed.

The two most frequently used modes of transport were taxis and cars.

Of the 15.1 million day and overnight trips, cars were used in 6.5 million trips and for taxis the figure was six million.

Eating out at restaurants and cafes was the most popular activity, followed by trips for shopping.

The main reason for taking trips was to visit friends, family or relatives, followed by leisure.

The age bracket found to be most likely to have travelled was between 29 and 39, with a peak in people aged between 30 and 34.

For day and overnight trips blacks remained the highest with 70%, the majority of whom travelled to visit friends and relatives.

For leisure holidays coloureds and whites held the majority.

- Sapa