Crime fears hindering S.Africa tourism growth

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Perceptions of violent crime are the "Achilles heel" hindering growth in tourism in South Africa, a top tourism official said on Thursday.

South Africa will be the first African country to host the soccer World Cup, in 2010, but its status as one of the world's most violent countries outside a war zone has alarmed tourists keen to enjoy its beaches and wildlife.

"Crime continues to be the Achilles heel of the tourism industry in this country," Moeketsi Mosola, chief executive officer of the South African Tourism agency, told the Cape Town Press Club.

"There is no question that we are losing a lot of people ... due to the perception of safety and security," he said, adding the country was committed to providing a safe destination for visitors.

"In (the) last year we had 99.99 percent of tourists who came to South Africa and had a great time. Less than 0.1 percent were affected (by crime)," Mosola said.

Despite fears of crime, tourism in Africa's strongest economy remained resilient, particularly in the face of soaring global fuel prices which have caused some airline ticket prices to triple, Mosola said.

A global economic slowdown, which has its roots in the American housing market and has been accentuated by rising food prices and inflation, has hit consumers hard.

"The key source market outside Africa comes from North America and Europe and when there is a slowdown in the GDPs of these regions ... it is likely to negatively affect our arrivals to South Africa," he said.

Mosola said South Africa's tourism growth easily outstripped the global average of 5 percent for the first quarter of 2008, surging to 11.9 percent after a record 9.1 million tourist arrivals last year.

Tourism contributed 60.1 billion rand or 8.4 percent of South Africa's GDP in 2007, providing 785,000 jobs.

Mosola said SA Tourism was aiming for 10 million visitors in 2010 and a "historical high" GDP contribution of 12 percent by 2014.

"Tourism has the potential to do that," he said, although the fight against crime was crucial in achieving targets.

(Editing by Giles Elgood)