Tourism in South Africa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
South Africa is a major global tourist destination, with the tourism industry accounting for 5.8% of the country's GDP as of May 2026, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).[1][2]
In 2025, South Africa's international passenger arrivals reached a record 10.5 million people.[3] This was up from 8.92 million the year before.[2]
In 2025, South Africa was rated as the 4th best country in the world for tourism, as well as the best in the Africa and Indian Ocean region, by The Telegraph.[4]
According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism industry directly contributed R102 billion to South Africa's GDP in 2012, and supports 10.3% of the country's employment.[5] 1.8 million people were employed in South Africa's tourism sector in early 2025, and this number is expected to grow significantly over the coming few years.[2]
South Africa offers both domestic and international tourists a wide variety of options, among others the picturesque natural landscape and game reserves, diverse cultural heritage and highly regarded wines. Some of the most popular destinations include several national parks, such as the expansive Kruger National Park in the north of the country, the coastlines and beaches of the KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape provinces, and the major cities of Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg.
The top five overseas countries with the largest number of tourists visiting South Africa in 2017 were the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. Most of the tourists arriving in South Africa from elsewhere in Africa came from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. In terms of tourists from SADC countries, Zimbabwe topped the list at 31%, followed by Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, and Botswana. In addition, Nigeria was the country of origin for nearly 30% of tourists arriving in South Africa.[6]
Attractions
Biodiversity and ecotourism
South Africa is ranked nineteenth out of the world's twenty megadiverse countries[7] South Africa is home to a large variety of animal life. Among the large mammals found in the northern bushveld include lions, leopards, cheetahs, white rhinoceroses, blue wildebeest, kudus, impalas, hyenas, hippopotamuses and giraffes. A significant extent of the bushveld exists in the north-east, including the Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa, and the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.
The Kruger National Park, established in 1926, is one of the most visited national parks in the country, with a total of 1,659,793 visitors in the 2014/15 period.[8] The region is also home to nearly 80 percent of the world's rhino population. Due to COVID-19 restrictions impeding tourism and movement in the region, the killings of rhino species in South Africa have fallen by 53 percent in 2020.[9]
The country is also particularly rich in plant diversity, with a wide variety of biomes found across the country. These include the grasslands in the Highveld, the succulent Karoo in central South Africa, and the endemic fynbos biome, constituting the majority of the area and plant life in the Cape floristic region of the Western Cape. This rare vegetation is protected as part of the Table Mountain National Park (which also includes the iconic flat-topped Table Mountain), which was the most-visited national park in South Africa in 2014/15, with a total of 2,677,767 visitors.[8]
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is the concept of responsible travel to areas that might be protected, and possibly rated as especially fragile. The intent behind ecotourism is to create as little detrimental impact on the environment as possible.
As one of the world's few megadiverse countries, South Africa has used ecotourism to sustain and improve its immense biodiversity, as well as invigorate its economy. Tourism is the fourth largest generator of foreign exchange in South Africa,[10] and ecotourism is the idea of encouraging visitors while promoting and supporting a country's biodiversity.
South Africa contains an immense degree of biodiversity, and thus, ecotourism is a way for the country to benefit from wildlife in a non-consumptive and legal manner, as opposed to allowing illegal activities like poaching and trafficking for the international wildlife trade - things which are strictly prohibited, and actively prevented in the country.
Cultural attractions
In addition to its numerous natural attractions, South Africa also boasts numerous attractions of cultural significance. These include the fossil-bearing caves forming part of the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng, the ruins of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in northern Limpopo, the wine routes of the Western Cape, and various historical sites in the cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg (such as Robben Island, the Castle of Good Hope and Soweto township).
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Ten South African sites are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, including the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park in KwaZulu-Natal. There are five Cultural WHS, four Natural WHS and 1 mixed WHS.
Statistics
 |
The number of tourists increased to 10.5 million in 2025, from 8.92 million in 2024.[2][14]
Foreign arrivals by year
| Foreign traveller arrivals (2000–2025)[15][14] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Foreign arrivals
(in thousands) |
Year | Foreign Arrivals
(in thousands) |
Year | Foreign Arrivals
(in thousands) |
| 2000 | 6,001 | 2009 | 10,098 | 2018 | 15,940 |
| 2001 | 5,908 | 2010 | 11,575 | 2019 | 15,825 |
| 2002 | 6,550 | 2011 | 12,496 | 2020 | 4,586 |
| 2003 | 6,640 | 2012 | 13,796 | 2021 | 3,150 |
| 2004 | 6,815 | 2013 | 15,155 | 2022 | 8,026 |
| 2005 | 7,518 | 2014 | 15,092 | 2023 | 11,655 |
| 2006 | 8,509 | 2015 | 15,052 | 2024 | 11,729 |
| 2007 | 9,208 | 2016 | 16,158 | 2025 | 14,183 |
| 2008 | 9,729 | 2017 | 15,991 | ||
Tourist arrivals by country
| Tourist arrivals of Top 10 SADC countries[16][14] | Tourist arrivals of Top 10 overseas countries[16][14] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank (2025) | Country of origin | 2025 | 2015 | Rank (2025) | Country of origin | 2025 | 2015 | |||||
| Arrivals | % | Arrivals | % | Arrivals | % | Arrivals | % | |||||
| 1 |  Zimbabwe |
2,307,196 | 29.2 | 1,900,791 | 28.9 | 1 |  United Kingdom |
403,714 | 16.9 | 407,486 | 19.0 | |
| 2 |  Mozambique |
2,078,635 | 26.3 | 1,200,335 | 18.3 | 2 |  United States |
391,939 | 16.4 | 297,226 | 13.9 | |
| 3 |  Lesotho |
1,395,346 | 17.7 | 1,394,913 | 21.2 | 3 |  Germany |
290,795 | 12.2 | 256,646 | 12.0 | |
| 4 |  Eswatini |
958,716 | 12.1 | 838,006 | 12.7 | 4 |  Netherlands |
140,338 | 5.9 | 121,883 | 5.7 | |
| 5 |  Botswana |
418,474 | 5.3 | 593,514 | 9.0 | 5 |  France |
135,007 | 5.6 | 128,438 | 6.0 | |
| 6 |  Malawi |
230,640 | 2.9 | 135,260 | 2.1 | 6 |  Australia |
121,361 | 5.1 | 99,205 | 4.6 | |
| 7 |  Namibia |
175,588 | 2.2 | 212,514 | 3.2 | 7 |  India |
69,680 | 2.9 | 78,385 | 3.7 | |
| 8 |  Zambia |
175,165 | 2.2 | 161,259 | 2.5 | 8 |  Canada |
65,744 | 2.7 | 56,224 | 2.6 | |
| 9 |  Tanzania |
44,293 | 0.6 | 35,817 | 0.5 | 9 |  Brazil |
63,848 | 2.7 | |||
| 10 |  Angola |
41,718 | 0.5 | 48,416 | 0.7 | 10 |  Italy |
55,947 | 2.3 | 52,377 | 2.4 | |
| – |  China |
37,902 | 1.6 | 84,691 | 3.9 | |||||||
| Rank | Country | Arrivals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zimbabwe | 2,183,260 |
| 2 | Mozambique | 1,591,751 |
| 3 | Lesotho | 974,369 |
| 4 | Eswatini | 842,318 |
| 5 | Botswana | 395,965 |
| 6 |  United States | 372,362 |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 349,883 |
| 8 | Germany | 254,992 |
| 9 | Malawi | 163,726 |
| 10 | Netherlands | 132,422 |
| 11 | France | 125,823 |
| 12 | Australia | 98,544 |
| 13 | India | 75,541 |
| 14 | Canada | 58,057 |
| 15 | Italy | 50,780 |
| 16 | Brazil | 49,855 |
| 17 |  Kenya | 47,852 |
| 18 |  Belgium | 45,225 |
| 19 |  Switzerland | 42,255 |
| 20 | China | 41,418 |
| Others | 1,022,972 | |
| Total | 8,919,370 | |
Governance
The tourism industry in South Africa is managed by the Department of Tourism. The department is headed up by the Minister of Tourism; a position held since 2023 by leader of the GOOD party, Patricia de Lille.
The Department had a budget in the 2024/2025 fiscal year of R2.3 billion. This is allocated to the country's national marketing agency (which received R1.2 billion in the same year), and programs like the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and Tourism Incentive Programmes (TIP).[18]
The official national marketing agency of the South African government, with the goal of promoting tourism in South Africa both locally and globally is known as South African Tourism (SA Tourism).[19]
Certain provinces and cities have their own tourism marketing agencies, tasked with similar responsibilities, but for their local jurisdictions. Examples are Wesgro in the Western Cape and Cape Town Tourism in Cape Town.
Contribution to GDP
Tourism in South Africa contributes a significant amount of money towards the country's GDP. In May 2025, according to Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), the tourism industry accounted for 3.3% of South Africa's GDP.[2] This is up from 2.3% in 2019.[20]
The total nominal GDP of the South African economy in 2024 was R7.3 trillion.[21] Therefore, the South African tourism industry contributed an annual total of around R241 billion to the country's economy around the same time.
Taking the Department of Tourism's 2024/2025 fiscal year budget of R2.3 billion into account, the return on investment for the Department sits at around over 100 times.
Visa policy
Visitors to South Africa must obtain a visa from one of the South African diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries, in which case they get what is called a "Port of Entry Visa". Visitors who require a visa must apply in person and provide biometric data.[22] See also the visa policy of South Africa.
History of tourism in South Africa
Prior to the democratic elections of 1994
If you can't put up with petty apartheid, don't go. The burden is on visitors to adapt to separate buses, doorways, post office windows, elevators, beaches, and toilets for people of separate skin color.[23]
Before the end of apartheid, the nation was not largely celebrated as a tourist destination. As a result of the political unrest, the country faced difficulty in creating a highly-functioning tourism industry. Though the numbers indicate there was active tourism, it was not expansive and faced hardships as a result of the politics of the period.[24]
The Traveler's Africa: A Guide to the Entire Continent reported in 1973 that South Africa was receiving 20,000 Americans a year, though even then the country was a controversial destination.[25] The book goes on to report that the visitors were carefully screened to keep out journalists and similar undesirables,[26] and that "irritating foreigners" were regularly deported.[27]
Years following democracy
In the years following the multiracial democratic election of 1994, South Africa opened its tourism horizons by hosting a variety of worldwide events including the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The hosting of these events helped bolster South Africa's image and national identity.[28]
After apartheid, there was an emergence of black-owned bed and breakfast establishments in the South African tourism industry. These establishments mainly exist in former "black spaces", also known as townships. These bed and breakfast locations mainly benefit from domestic tourism in South Africa. The national government sought to bolster black economic empowerment and the general structure of ownership in the tourism industry. Places such as Alexandra have become part of an initiative of "township tourism". The concept is meant to develop the townships by sharing their history and celebrating their culture with tourists.[29]
South Africa, however, failed in their bid to host the 2004 Summer Olympics. Researchers have cited logistical and political reasons as to why the bid failed. For example, Cape Town was behind in the necessary means to support an event the size of the Olympics financially. Political reasons were also prevalent in the eventual failure of the bid as the committee was all-white and the motive to create a national identity seemed like a false promise to the majority black population of South Africa.
The Bid Committee had issues of reconciliation and accusations of racism specifically between Raymond Ackerman, a wealthy white man who led the bid, and Sam Ramsamy who was of Indian descent. Therefore, in an attempt to enhance the tourism industry through an Olympics bid, the challenge of cohesive action posed a great threat.[30]
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is an example of a more successful route by South Africa to increase tourism and influence the nation positively. Firstly, the event helped to bolster South Africa's global brand and image. One of the main objectives in South Africa's attempt to host such events was to positively influence its national identity and erase the negative image of apartheid set forth prior to the nation's gradual shift to become the self-proclaimed "Rainbow Nation".[28]
Some examples of SA reinventing itself through the tourism industry include the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, District Six Museum in Cape Town, and former prisons turned into powerful museums, such as Constitution Hill and Robben Island, which now attract many tourists each year.[31]
Recent developments
In October 2025, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille announced that for the first six months of 2025, tourism in South Africa had increased by 15.8% compared to the year before. Middle Eastern arrivals increased by 82.2%, Central and South American arrivals increased by 63.6%, Australasian arrivals increased by 38.0%, African land arrivals increased by 31.8%, and European arrivals increased by 20.8%. The increase in tourism numbers comes as SA prepares to roll out its Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). The Minister said the country had a goal of 15 million visitors by 2030.[32]
See also
