By 
By Bahle Gama
Every tourist’s dream is to spend less or an amount equivalent to the currency in their home country when visiting a foreign country.
However, with the exchange rates fluctuating now and then, many are reluctant to visit their dream destination countries because of how expensive it might be for them.
The International Journal of Tourism Research published on April 3, 2024, states that, theoretically, exchange rates can affect the cost of travel for tourists and subsequently, tourism demand.
More specifically, an appreciation of the currency of a country makes the cost of travel to that particular country more expensive for tourists coming from countries with weaker currencies.
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“Conversely, when a country’s currency depreciates, the cost of travel to the latter becomes cheaper for tourists from countries with stronger currencies and more people can afford to travel to that country.”
With the Lilangeni at par with the Rand, Eswatini tourists are in for a treat as there are currently 22 countries where the Rand is stronger.
Worth noting is that the Rand has had a less-than-ideal start this year, hitting over E19 per US dollar on several occasions, courtesy of geopolitical events and global economic trends such as the hawkish Fed that has yet to start its cutting cycle for interest rates.
Emerging market currencies, including the Rand, have reportedly historically strengthened during the US interest rate cut cycles. However, despite expectations of a US rate-cut cycle, ongoing delays have caused the domestic currency to weaken in recent sessions.
According to Investec Chief Economist Annabel Bishop, the most probable outcome of the rand is to end the year averaging between E18.17 and E19.09 but risks remain.
During the last week of the elections in South Africa, the Rand plummeted after a model developed by a state research agency showed that the ANC looks set to lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since it came to power at the end of apartheid three decades ago.
The currency fell as much as 2.1 per cent to trade at 18.7763 per dollar, while the yield on local-currency bonds maturing in 2035 rose 3 basis points to 12.06 per cent. Despite this volatility, the local unit managed to strengthen this month thanks to a turn in sentiment.
Bishop said the Rand is one of only five emerging-market currencies to strengthen this year, “but it is still at over E18/ US Dollar.”
As of June 2, 2024, the Rand was trading at E18.80 per US Dollar.
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According to data from Numbeo, one of the world’s largest databases of user-contributed data regarding cities and countries worldwide, some of the countries that trade with the neighbouring country are among the cheapest for South Africans to travel to.
“Because direct currency conversion does not always indicate the general cost of living, we also compared the cost of food, drinks, and travel to what you would pay locally in some of the countries that trade in these currencies, including others,”
Interestingly, some of the countries that trade in these currencies is among the cheapest for South Africans to travel to. The comparisons focused more on travel and touring than the general living costs and conversions were made on June 2, 2024.
