Amapiano contributes to increased tourism to South Africa, report finds

Amapiano music has been credited with providing a significant boost to tourism in South Africa.

Speaking to News24 at the launch of World Tourism Month in South Africa, the nation's acting Tourism CEO, Themba Khumalo, said the country was seeing a significant increase in visits by the African American community who want to experience the culture and music of South Africa.

The US is the country's "fastest-growing market, from the international markets," according to Khumalo, who added: "One of the reasons people travel to a destination is they are attracted to the way of life of that place. And, they want to go to that place to find the source of that culture that they are perceiving from a distance. One of our greatest exports right now is amapiano music."

Khumalo continued: "When your music and your fashion influences the world, then the world travels to that country to find the source and why that country is so special and how they innovated in terms of the music and the culture. And right now, South Africa is red hot in terms of influence in the world. And that is why we find all the African American music producers and filmmakers travelling into South Africa to come and experience the amapiano movement."

Revisit DJ Mag's February 2022 piece on the most exciting producers of amapiano music here, and find our review of the 2021 compilation 'Amapiano Now' here. Watch a recent documentary about amapiano by BBC Radio 1Xtra here.