The Italian tourism market and South Africa: an initial investigation on the potential Honeymoon market

Although the Italian tourism market in South Africa is not the most prominent, it is relevant as it is in the top ten of South Africa’s inbound market. The aim of this study is to commence a debate to explore the specific relationship between the Italian tourism outbound market and South Africa, with particular reference to the Italian honeymoon travel market. This article has limitations since limited data are available on the honeymoon travel market. This is a desk study and various sources have been used to compensate for the data scarcity on the investigated matter. After an introductory section, a literature review explores issues related to South African tourism, the Italian outbound market and the honeymoon travel market. Thereafter, a specific section on the Italian tourism market in South Africa, with specific reference to honeymoon travels, is presented. A supplementary note on the closure of the South Africa Tourism office in Italy is included. The study concludes that there is a positive match between the Italian honeymoon travel market and the South African tourism offering. Limitations of the present study and scarcity of data suggest the need to enhance the research in this area.