The devaluation of the South African Rand has had certain positive effects, one of which being the positive spin off it has had for the Tourism market.

This is badly needed after the tourism market was initially negatively affected by the new visa regulations which were introduced last year. Tourism numbers initially slumped in the immediate period after the introduction of the new regulations. However, the latest figures seem to report an increase of about 7% in number of tourists visiting South Africa over the peak holiday period.

The slump in the rand has certainly made things very cheap for tourists visiting South Africa. As an example the cost of a pint of beer in a pub in South Africa starts at around R 25 ($ 1.50) which is a quarter of the price in London.

Initial figures indicate that tourists from Europe have risen by 6.1%, tourism from North America is up by 7.8%, and tourism from Asia has increased by 15%. These figures however still need to be independently audited.

With the rand having devalued by over 32% against the dollar since the start of last year a holiday in South Africa is providing great value.