Cape Town's tourism sector continues to be a major money spinner, with direct tourism spend rising from R14.4-billion in 2012 to about R16-billion last year. A recent Grant Thornton study commissioned by the city council showed that of the 1745300 foreign arrivals to the Western Cape, just more than 94% chose Cape Town as their holiday destination in the 2013-14 financial year.The domestic tourism market also remained buoyant, with 863351 visitors to the city - up by more than 191000.The data come from a survey of tour operators, restaurants, attractions, accommodation owners and other tourism-related businesses. The information was collated between 2012 and last year, before the controversial visa rules came into force.The tourism sector was severely affected by the visa rules, but it received a boost last month when the government decided to revise the more onerous regulations following deliberations by an interministerial task team.Inbound travellers accompanied by minors no longer have to produce an unabridged birth certificate, and prospective visitors will not have to apply for visas in person at South African foreign missions in their home countries.The study found that the total direct tourism spend by foreign visitors to Cape Town was just more than R13-billion in 2013-14. Domestic travellers on day trips to Cape Town spent R3.2-billion."We need to take cognisance of the bigger picture: although day visitors do not spend on overnight accommodation, they spend on the city's attractions, restaurants, local transport and shopping, among other things. At R3.2-billion per year, this is a significant contribution to the economy of Cape Town," said Garreth Bloor, mayoral committee member for tourism, events and economic development.Bloor said the spending power of all visitors to Cape Town helped stimulate job creation. There were 38838 permanent and 15489 temporary jobs created by the local tourism sector.Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy said "the exchange rate remains favourable to international visitors, and we are currently engaging at international events such as the World Travel Market to place Cape Town as a destination at the top of mind of destination management companies as well as with international trade and media". © BDlive..