Figures for foreign arrivals in the first five months of this year indicated strong growth in the face of challenging economic conditions, according to Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the environment and tourism minister.

"There is no doubt that South Africa is one of the most sought after destinations in the world, and the figures continue to prove this again and again," Van Schalkwyk said on Thursday at the launch of South African Tourism Month in Rustenburg in the North West.

He was confident he said that that the country is well on its way to reaching its target of 10-million foreign visitors in 2010.

Overall foreign arrivals, he said, grew by 7.6 percent from January to May 2008 to reach a total of almost four-million (3 983 061). Europe is experiencing positive growth of 7.4 percent. France has seen the highest increase over the period of 20.5 percent. Italy and the Netherlands grew at 9.1 percent and 9.5 percent respectively while Germany saw good recovery with 5.1 percent growth.

Arrivals from the Americas have shown consistent annual growth since 2002. From January to May this year there were over 26 000 more visitors arriving from the United States, bringing the total figure to 161 550 for the region including Canada. This represents an increase of 13.6 percent over the same period in 2007.

Arrivals from Brazil, a market on which South African Tourism is increasingly concentrating, rose by 19 percent to 14 432 arrivals. Growth out of Asia and Australasia was led by growth in two key markets, namely China at 17.4 percent and India at 16.2 percent. Australia continues to grow steadily with a 12.4 percent increase for the period while Japan increased by 3.6 percent.

Arrivals from the air markets in Africa (Kenya and Nigeria) grew at 19.5 percent, while land markets saw growth at 6.4 percent.

"Compared to the figure of less than 600 000 foreign visitors in 1994, the long-term growth we have seen is truly something to celebrate," the minister said. "This does not mean, however, that our tourism industry faces no challenges. As we as a country define our strategy for adapting to and mitigating against the impacts of climate change, it is very apt to also explore the response of the tourism industry."

In South Africa, he said, the majority of attractions and experiences sold to tourists are environmentally based. "We have already seen the impact of climate change on sea currents in the destruction on some of our most popular tourist beaches. Global warming also has a potentially devastating effect on biodiversity.

"A report published at the end of June by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that if the global average temperature increase is not kept below two degrees C compared to pre-industrial levels, the impact on the Kruger National Park could be devastating.

"The IPCC report indicates that if global mean temperatures increase 2.5-3 degrees centigrade above 1990 levels, up to two-thirds of all animal species in the Kruger National Park could become extinct. This includes the extinction of 24-59 percent of mammals, 28-40 percent of birds, 13-70 percent of butterflies, 18-80 percent of other invertebrates and 21-45 percent of reptiles in the Kruger National Park. A loss of 66 percent of all animal species could become a reality if nothing is done.

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