FEDHASA attributes festive tourism slump to online gambling
The association reported that hotspots like Cape Town performed strongly, but mid-level tourism experienced a delayed peak.
South Africa.- The Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (FEDHASA) has blamed the tourism sector’s poor performance during the festive season on the rise of online gambling. According to Brett Tungay, the National Chairperson of FEDHASA, a large portion of consumers’ recreational spending is being diverted to online gambling.
Tungay also observed that the restaurant industry has been adversely affected by the shift of spending towards gambling. He said: “The effect of online gaming in terms of that discretionary spend, which would have gone to a weekend away, is now being spent on online gambling. It is many billions that are now being spent, and that is all discretionary income.”
The association reported that hotspots like Cape Town performed strongly, but mid-level tourism experienced a delayed peak. Tungay interpreted the data as South Africa’s middle class being under financial pressure. He noted that while South Africa attracts many international tourists, domestic tourism still accounts for most festive season spending.
Tungay’s comments echo those made by various stakeholders in the retail sector in 2025, including Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers, who described the online gambling crisis as “out of control”, comparing it to the tobacco epidemic of previous decades.
In the 2024/25 financial year, South Africa’s gambling industry achieved a record turnover of R1.15trn (€78.19bn), with online betting accounting for 60 per cent of the gross gambling revenue.
