Direct flights from US to Cape Town bring more visitors (and dollars!) to South Africa

Africa Melane speaks to Joachim Vermooten, aviation researcher and moderator at the University of Johannesburg.

Over the past five years, United Airlines has flown direct flights from destinations in the United States to Cape Town, bringing record numbers of American visitors to South Africa.

The US now brings almost as many tourists to South Africa as the United Kingdom.

Visitors from the United Kingdom have decreased by 18.5% and tourist numbers from there are now lower than in 2019, before Covid-19.

Vermooten suggests there will soon be direct flights from South America to Cape Town.

"South America... we can expect to come sometime. South Americans love South Africa. For them, it's the same type of climate, nicer and bigger, so I think we should expect something from there and the connection would definitely assist South Africa's economy."

- Joachim Vermooten, Aviation researcher - University of Johannesburg

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.