Surge in South African tourist arrivals
South Africa saw a notable increase in foreign arrivals in July, according to newly released data. One report states that the number of foreign arrivals at the country's ports rose 17.3% month on month to more than 1.27 million, a 6% increase compared with the same month last year. Another account puts the figure at 991,696 international tourist arrivals, up 12.5% from July 2025. The discrepancy in the two figures likely stems from differing definitions of "foreign arrivals" versus "international tourists."
For the first seven months of 2026, international tourist arrivals reached 6,576,169, an increase of 12.4% from the same period in 2025. Arrivals from African markets grew by 14.3% year on year, while overseas arrivals rose by 5.7%.
Visitor profile and origin markets
The majority of tourists—97.5%—were in South Africa for holidays, with 1.9% visiting for business, 0.6% for study, and less than 0.1% for medical treatment. Tourists from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) made up 79.2% of all tourists in July, led by Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho. Tourists from other African countries accounted for 1.2%, with Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria contributing the bulk of that share.
Overseas visitors constituted 19.5% of all tourists in July, with the US, UK, and Netherlands collectively contributing 41% of that segment. Most African tourists (97.3%) came for holidays. Among overseas regions, Australasia had the highest proportion of holidaymakers, followed by the Middle East, North America, Central and South America, Europe, and Asia.
Arrival modes and entry points
More than 91% of overseas tourists arrived by air, while 8.6% came by road and less than 1% by sea. Sadc visitors predominantly arrived by road, with just 6.5% flying in. Most tourists who arrived by road entered via the Lebombo port in Mpumalanga, followed by Beitbridge on the border with Zimbabwe. Those who flew in mostly landed at OR Tambo and Cape Town international airports.
The data reaffirms earlier indications that anti-immigrant protests in late June—largely directed at undocumented African nationals and which led some countries to repatriate their citizens—did not significantly deter visits to South Africa.
Government response and sector outlook
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said the figures showed that growth was becoming more geographically diversified. "The data reveals that the growth is becoming geographically diversified, which has been one of our strategic priorities," she said. "Together with the private sector and stakeholders we’ll continue to build on this momentum through the recently launched digital visa, the Electronic Travel Authorisation system."
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently identified tourism as one of four sectors targeted to drive inclusive economic growth, job creation, and build confidence under Phase Three of the Government-Business Partnership and Operation Vulindlela. In 2024, tourism sustained 954,000 direct jobs and contributed 4.9% to GDP.