4. South African Tourism Bi-Annual Report, 2014/15 The South African Tourism reported the performance of Quarter 1 (Q1) and Quarter 2 (Q2) of 2014/15 as follows: 1. Increase foreign visitor arrivals coming to South Africa - In relation to Q1, SA Tourism achieved 99.6 per cent of the quarterly target. Arrivals grew by 7.5 per cent compared to 2013 (3,620,149). Visa issues are cited as hampering travel. Quarter 2 data is not yet available. NDT is facilitating discussions with Stats SA to address and resolve the delays in the release of tourism stats. 2. Increase in domestic tourism in South Africa - The target was achieved for Quarter 1. There was however a drop in Q2 and the Strategic Research Unit is investigating reasons for the drop in Q2 compared to Q1. 3. Increase tourism revenue contribution to the economy - Q1 target was exceeded due to the increase in domestic spend air arrival markets. The results for spend are correlated to the arrivals data as the survey is weighted back to the population of tourist arrivals; as a result the Q2 data is not available. 4. Increase Brand Awareness - annual target is 80 per cent and progress achieved is 80 percent. 5. Provide quality assurance for tourism products - annual target for graded accommodation establishment members is 7,088. Quarterly target is 1,772. Q1 and Q2 recorded 1,486 and 1,407 respectively. The accuracy of QiT system is currently being reviewed for final reporting. 6. Increase business events - there are no quarterly targets. Achievements are reported as progress is being made. The National Conventions Bureau is however on track to achieve annual target of 45 Bids, in line with the progress made this far. 7. Budget analysis - as at the end of September 2014, year to date budget was R667 821 078,66; while the actual is R646 659 666.29 and the variance is R21 161 412,37. The spent amounts to 97 percent. Annual Budget remaining is R429 798 528,72. 8. Next steps - going forward, SA Tourism will focus on the integrated HR strategy; review the marketing strategy; servicing of the Hub; stakeholder engagement strategy and plan; and implementation by 1 April 2015.