Johannesburg, Oct 15 (IANS): More than 60,000 Chinese tourists visited South Africa in the first half of 2012, South African Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has said.
About 60,270 Chinese tourists visited the country in the first half of 2012, up by 68 percent, compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
China overtook France as South Africa's fourth-largest overseas source market, Xinhua quoted the minister as saying Sunday.
Visitors from Brazil and India also increased. Tourist arrivals from India shot up by 21 percent and from Brazil by 68 percent.
South Africa's tourism sector has performed exceptionally well, Schalkwyk said.
In the first quarter of 2012, South Africa earned $10 billion from tourism.