Strengthening pula spooks local tourism sector

The Botswana stall was a hive of activity PIC: MBONGENI MGUNI
The Botswana stall was a hive of activity PIC: MBONGENI MGUNI

DURBAN: Players in the local tourism sector are anxiously watching the strengthening of the pula against the US dollar, concerned that further upward movement will cut arrivals from the key target market.

The pula rose by 7.9 percent against the US dollar last year, although in the last month the greenback mounted a revival to end April with a 12-month loss of 6.7 percent. In January, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning announced that the pula would adopt a downward crawl of 0.30 percent, which, even though minimal, was interpreted by analysts as a signal that authorities felt the pula was overvalued.

The local tourism sector is heavily dependent on arrivals from the United States, a wealthy and sophisticated market that suits the national policy targeting “high value, low volume” tourists.

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