More than one million foreign visitors entered South Africa in just one month, and the country has so far seen more 3.7 million travellers from SADC nations.
South Africa is welcoming millions of visitors from across the world every month.
A recent report by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) detailed the number of local and foreign travellers who recently crossed through the nation’s ports of entry.
The report detailed the visitors’ countries of origin and gender split, as well as the purpose of their visit.
More than 1 million inbound
South Africa’s ports of entry recorded 2.7 million inbound and outbound travellers for the month of June.
The figure includes arrivals, departures and travellers in transit. This was an 11.5% increase from last June, but a 5% decrease from the previous month.
Stats SA stated that 1.04 million foreign nationals arrived in the country as opposed to 882 000 departing, with the remainder being South African travellers.
The United States sent the most tourists with just over 41 200, followed by the United Kingdom and Australia with 16 994 and 10 196, respectively.
However, overseas tourism contributed significantly less than visitors from other African countries.
Stats SA stated that 79% of all incoming visitors were from countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the overwhelming majority declared the same intention when entering.
“Holiday continues to be the main purpose of visits. About 97.1% of all the tourists were in South Africa for holiday purposes,” stated Stats SA.
Neighbours regular visitors
Last year, South Africa welcomed 6.6 million visitors from SADC nations and has so far seen 3.7 million fellow southern Africans cross into the country in the first two quarters of 2025.
The figure of over one million foreign national visitors in June was a 19.7% increase from last time this year.
Zimbabweans and Mozambicans were the most common, with over 160 000 inbound each, with Lesotho also breaching six figures.
Only 2% of visitors came from further into the continent, with roughly 7 000 coming from Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria combined.
Male visitors were more common with 59.3%, as opposed to 40.7% female.
Industry insights
Southern Africa Tourism Service Association CEO David Frost said that the country’s natural attractions provided a solid foundation from which to build, but required the industry to continually adapt.
“We cannot afford to be complacent. To stay globally competitive, we must continue to diversify and meet evolving traveller expectations,” said Frost.
National Chairperson of the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa, Rosemary Anderson, agreed with Frost’s sentiments on evolving the industry.
“For the first time, ideas are not only being developed jointly, but action plans are being put in place. This shift has the potential to be a game-changer for tourism in South Africa,” Anderson concluded.
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