South Africa’s tourism sector is enjoying one of its strongest rebounds yet, with foreign arrivals rising 18% year on year.
Of the 8.56-million visitors recorded so far in 2025, 6.64-million came from elsewhere in Africa, acting South African Tourism CEO Darryl Erasmus told the Sunday Times
“The Africa region still has the lion’s share of arrivals, with most visitors from January to October coming from the rest of the continent. The top five source markets are:
- Zimbabwe with 1.91-million arrivals;
- Mozambique with 1.7-million;
- Lesotho with 1.17-million;
- Eswatini with 777,432; and
- Botswana with 329,506.
“Factors driving this growth are cross-border ‘visiting friends and relatives’ travel, trade, shopping trips and strong land-based connectivity.”
Beyond Africa, Erasmus said the US, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and France were the source countries of most visitors, with the US leading at 331,378 arrivals. The UK followed with 315,877 visitors.
He said the US had surpassed its pre-Covid 2019 levels, helped by the lure of South Africa’s wildlife, cultural and luxury experiences. The UK market, he added, had benefited from travellers seeking better value and “more authentic experiences”, with airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Norse Atlantic adding capacity. Europe is recovering steadily, though still slightly below its 2019 figures.
Domestic tourism, Erasmus said, bounced back much earlier. “Domestic numbers returned to pre-Covid levels in 2022.”
Erasmus said the tourism industry was pushing to boost foreign arrivals further by getting airlines to raise the number of flights they operated from Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.
So far, travellers entering by land are up nearly 6% since 2019, while African air markets are 5.1% higher. But long-haul markets are recovering more slowly — Europe is at 89% of 2019 levels, the Americas at 93% and Asia and Australasia at 82%.
Erasmus said South African Tourism had launched targeted campaigns in high-potential markets, including China, India, the UK, the US and neighbouring African states, aimed at keeping South Africa top of mind for new and returning travellers while tackling barriers such as cost, connectivity and visa delays.
He said each region had been running full-scale marketing drives to boost South Africa’s visibility. Seasonal campaigns, digital pushes, media partnerships and trade engagement form part of a broader effort to spark interest and convert it into bookings.
We are encouraged by the growing recovery of our tourism sector and remain confident in South Africa’s appeal as a premier destination
— Darryl Erasmus, acting CEO SA Tourism
In India, the focus has been on easing access through the “trusted tour operator” initiative, which promotes quicker visa processing. In the UK, the “come find your joy” campaign uses immersive stories and major media placements backed by airline and trade deals. In the US, Erasmus said, efforts combine emotional storytelling with close work with travel trade partners to make South Africa easier to promote and book.
“We are encouraged by the growing recovery of our tourism sector and remain confident in South Africa’s appeal as a premier destination,” Erasmus said.
This week, the Cape Chamber of Commerce & Industry said it was hearing anecdotal reports of increased visitor numbers, particularly from the East, for the summer season.
“This may be linked to the department of home affairs launching the tour operator programme for India and China earlier this year,” the chamber said. “One would expect prospects of a busy season to translate into local investment in infrastructure and retail stock, [but] it is too soon to ascertain to what degree this has happened.”
The chamber said the number of new property developments was an expression of confidence in the market. “If people are developing properties which will come online in a year or two, that tells you what they are thinking,” the chamber said. “The V&A Waterfront’s R20bn investment in their Granger Bay development is a good measure of confidence.”
In a presentation to the portfolio committee on tourism last month, the department of tourism said, “Tourism serves as a powerful economic driver in South Africa, supporting 1.6-million jobs and contributing R91.6bn in foreign spending and R137bn in domestic spending according to 2024 figures.
“In 2024, the sector’s total contribution to GDP was estimated at 8.4%, while it directly employed more than 730,000 people.”
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