Three Year Period Overview
Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of visitors by month from June 2005 to June 2008. It shows that, visitors' arrivals assumed a fluctuating trend during the three year period with the higher numbers of visitors were observed in December and April. This is due to the fact that, December and April is Christmas and Easter months respectively therefore more visitors are received during these months. One other feature observed from the figure is that, apart from a fluctuating trend, the number of visitors to Lesotho has been declining gradually. An example of this is that, in December, 54,201, 42,917 and 30,826 visitors were recorded in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively. Furthermore, 203,565 visitors were recorded between June and December 2005, 356,913 between January and December 2006 and 300,350 between January and December 2007. Possible reasons behind this pattern could be that, in 2007, there was an unstable political climate in Lesotho which may not be favorable for visitors. Another reason could be the increase in fuel and food prices.
Arrivals in 2008
A total of 69,203 visitors were received during the first quarter of 2008 while 61,776 visitors were received during the second quarter of 2008. These numbers declined by 5.83 percent (4,281 visitors) and 16.60 percent (12,300 visitors) for the first and second quarters respectively as compared to the same periods in 2007. Analyses by Months indicate that, a larger proportion (37.07%) of visitors received was observed in March 2008. This could be attributed to the fact that, Easter holidays were in March this year therefore the flow of visitors increased.
Table 1: Distribution of arrivals by Month and Quarter, 2007 - 2008
Month/Quarter |
Arrivals 2007 |
Arrivals 2008 |
Percent (Per quarter 2008) |
Difference (2008-2007) |
Percentage Change |
Quarter 1 |
73,484 |
69,203 |
|
-4,281 |
-5.83 |
January |
24,587 |
19,851 |
28.69 |
-4,736 |
-19.26 |
February |
22,289 |
23,696 |
34.24 |
1,407 |
6.31 |
March |
26,608 |
25,656 |
37.07 |
-952 |
-3.58 |
Quarter 2 |
74,076 |
61,776 |
|
-12,300 |
-16.60 |
April |
27,864 |
20,954 |
33.92 |
-6,910 |
-24.80 |
May |
20,458 |
19,487 |
31.54 |
-971 |
-4.75 |
June |
25,754 |
21,335 |
34.54 |
-4,419 |
-17.16 |
Average Length of Stay
The Average Length of Stay of Visitors for June 2005 to June 2008 is presented in figure 2. It depicts a rolling trend during the three year period ranging between 7 and 12 nights for each month. The figure further shows that, the Average Length of Stay for visitors is longer in December.
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