Page 36 - TKZN Annual Report 2023/2024

The table below indicates the impact of arrivals into King Shaka International Airport (KSIA), impacted by COVID-19 in 2020, and the recovery in 2023. The graph indicates that 2023 has still not reached 2018 and 2019 levels.
Figure 14: King Shaka International Airport arrivals, 2018-2023
Hotel occupancy was consistent in 2023. This period has seen occupancy recovery almost reach 2019 levels, driven by domestic tourism.
Figure 15 : Hotel Occupancy figures, 2019-2023
KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Product Development and Investment Promotion
Tourism product development is mainly driven by the private sector, with some efforts by national, provincial and local governments, though these have been largely unsuccessful due to lack of funding for new projects proposed by SMMEs in the sector. There are a number of rural and township areas within the province that have the potential to be turned into tourism destinations, but many of these are not being developed. Such areas present opportunities to develop new and different tourism products to address the changing requirements of the market – hence the need to also recognise rural and township tourism as an element or part of the niche-product development.
34 TOURISM KWAZULU-NATAL ANNUAL REPORT 2023/2024