Airbnb in South Africa: the numbers

Airbnb has hosted two-million guests in South Africa since 2008, the company today announced.

This, and slew of other numbers, were presented by the company from a report done in collaboration with Genesis Analytics at its Africa Travel Summit in Langa, Cape Town on Wednesday

“Since Airbnb’s founding, hosts across South Africa have earned over US$260-million and, in the past year, the ripple effect of the activity of the Airbnb community resulted in an economic impact of US$678 million, supporting over 22 000 jobs,” the company said.

South Africa itself is home to more than 35 000 guests, a figure that’s 65% women.

Cape Town remains South Africa’s most popular city, but the company claims Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria and George are “seeing encouraging growth”.

On the African continent as a whole, 3.5-million guests have used Airbnb, with the likes of Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique among the fast growing countries for Airbnb globally.

As for its Experiences programme which launched in Cape Town in 2016 and the rest of the country in July, the company suggests that hosts belonging to said program earns US$14 000 annually.

“Today’s report shows how Airbnb’s community model creates healthy tourism by benefiting the hosts who share their homes and passions, the guests who are seeking authentic cultural experiences, and the local residents whose cultures, experiences and economies are celebrated and supported,” said Chris Lehane, Airbnb’s global head of public policy and affairs.

Feature image: supplied, Airbnb