Tourist numbers improve as local travel stabilises

SA welcomed just over 1.3-million foreign arrivals in January 2025, a 4.6% increase from the same month a year earlier, according to the latest data from Stats SA.

The total comprised 1,274,630 visitors, including 1,013,984 overnight tourists and 260,646 same-day visitors.

The growth was largely supported by increased arrivals from overseas markets and African countries, particularly those within Sadc. 

Overseas tourists accounted for 210,709 of total arrivals, marking a 7.8% increase compared to the same month last year, while Sadc accounted for up 787,560, a 3% year-on-year rise.

There were more male (572 599 or 56.5%) than female (441,385 or 43,5%) tourists.

Lara Hodes, Investec economist quoted the minister of tourism, saying essential “visa regime enhancements will lead to increased arrivals to SA”, adding that includes the digital Trusted Tour Operator Scheme visa initiative, which affords “a faster and more seamless process for visas for travellers from India and China”.

In January, 813,535 SA residents travelled through the country’s ports of entry and exit.

While arrivals by SA residents increased 0.6% month-on-month, departures declined 39.7% from December, reflecting the typical post-holiday slowdown in outbound travel.

Tourists from Europe continued to dominate overseas arrivals accounting for 67.8% (142,786) of overseas visitors. The UK led with 45,363 visitors followed by Germany (31,295) and the US (25,406).

Among other markets, arrivals from Australia were up 14.5% year on year, reaching 7,616 visitors, while arrivals from China surged by 34.5% to 3,738.

Central and South America also recorded robust growth with arrivals up 16.9%. Brazil remained the region’s top source market, contributing 5,454 visitors, up 9.1% from the previous year.

Tourists from Sadc nations accounted for 77.7% of total foreign tourist arrivals underscoring the region’s importance to SA’s tourism economy. 

Zimbabwe (273,084), Mozambique (182,768) and Lesotho (176,550) were the biggest contributors within the bloc. Arrivals from Eswatini rose 16.5%, while those from Angola rose 20.4%.

West Africa also posted significant gains with arrivals from the region increasing by 38.9% year on year. Ghana’s visitors rose by 39.9% to 3,088, while Nigeria contributed 2,207 visitors, reflecting a 27.9% increase.

About 97.5% of all the tourists (988,932) were in SA for holiday purposes.

Business travel accounted for 17 665 or 1.7%, while visits for study and medical treatment remained marginal, with 7,147 and 250 respectively.

Among African tourists, the preference for leisure travel was similarly high, with 97.4% (781,828) arriving for holiday.

In overseas markets, Australasia had the highest proportion of holidaymakers with 9,009, followed closely by Central and South America (8,235), Europe (140,512), North America (29,995), the Middle East (2,700), and Asia (15,906).

While leisure dominated, Asia led in business travel, with 544 of its visitors coming for work-related purposes. This was followed by the Middle East with 57.

In terms of study visits, Asia again topped the list with 555 of its tourists in SA for educational reasons, ahead of the Middle East with 76.

Road travel continued to be the primary mode of entry for most tourists, particularly from neighbouring countries.

Major border posts such as Beitbridge and Lebombo remained the primary gateways for land arrivals, processing 237,063 and 169,813 travellers, respectively.

Strong showing from accommodation sector

While January 2025 accommodation data is pending, the latest figures for December 2024, also released by Stats SA on Tuesday, show the tourist accommodation industry continuing to recover.

Total income for the industry in December increased by 7.2%, compared with December 2023.

Income from accommodation rose 12.1% during the same period, driven by a 0.2% increase in the number of stay unit nights sold, and an 11.8% increase in the average income per stay unit night.

Hotels were the largest contributors, with income up 13.6% (adding 8.1 percentage points to the overall growth), while the "other accommodation” category — which includes lodges, bed-and-breakfast establishments, self-catering establishments and "other” establishments — rose 10.5%, contributing 3.5 percentage points.

For the fourth quarter of 2024, accommodation income increased by 11.8% compared to the same quarter in 2023, with hotels (13.0%) and other accommodation (9.8%) remaining key drivers.

However, seasonally adjusted figures showed a 0.9% month-on-month decline in December after a 1.4% rise in November, reflecting typical year-end volatility.

Stats SA’s tourist accommodation survey is conducted monthly covering a sample of public and private enterprises involved in the country’s short-stay accommodation sector.

Tourism’s contribution to GDP has fluctuated over recent years due to the impact of Covid-19.

In 2019, before the pandemic, the industry directly contributed 3.7% to national GDP. However, that declined to 2.1% in 2020 before recovering to 2.3% in 2021.

The figures represent the direct contribution of tourism to GDP. When considering both direct and indirect contributions the sector’s total economic effect is much larger.

marxj@businesslive.co.za