NNA News

South Africa recorded 991,696 overnight international tourists in July, a 12.5 percent increase from the same month last year, with visitors from the Southern African region continuing to account for the largest share of arrivals.

https://nnatvplus.com/news/2903/south-africa-records-12-5-rise-in-july-tourist-arrivals

The figure, released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) in its International Tourism, July 2026 report, compares with 881,393 overnight tourists recorded in July 2025. Stats SA published the latest report on Aug. 26. A total of 3.15 million travellers passed through South Africa's ports of entry and exit during July, including arrivals, departures and transit passengers. Foreign travellers accounted for about 2.31 million of these movements, while South African residents accounted for 844,503.

Of the 1.27 million foreign arrivals recorded during the month, 1.24 million were classified as visitors. This included 251,049 same-day visitors and 991,696 overnight tourists. The latest figures highlight the importance of African markets to South Africa's tourism industry. Tourists from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries accounted for 785,469 arrivals in July. A further 11,751 tourists came from other African countries, while 193,637 came from overseas markets.

This means that regional African markets continued to provide the largest base of South Africa's international tourism activity, alongside continued growth from overseas destinations. The performance follows strong growth recorded during the first half of 2026. Between January and June, South Africa welcomed 5,584,473 international tourists, representing a 12.3 percent increase compared with the same period in 2025. Arrivals from Africa increased by 14.3 percent, while overseas arrivals grew by 5.6 percent.

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said the figures reflected continued growth across both regional and international markets. “Once again, the deliberate decision to diversify our tourism products is yielding positive results. The sustained growth in both regional and overseas arrivals reflects the resilience of our tourism sector and the effectiveness of the partnerships we have built with industry and our international markets,” de Lille said.

She said the government would continue to strengthen tourism partnerships across the continent while pursuing growth in overseas markets. “We will continue strengthening these relationships through joint marketing initiatives across the African continent while expanding our reach into strategic overseas markets,” de Lille said.

Europe remained South Africa's largest overseas source region in July, recording 97,461 tourist arrivals, followed by North America with 41,037. The United States was the largest individual overseas source market, with 37,310 tourists, followed by Britain with 25,024 and the Netherlands with 17,066. France recorded the strongest year-on-year increase among the leading overseas markets, with arrivals rising by 24.9 percent to 12,496. The continued growth in overseas arrivals is taking place alongside efforts by South Africa to improve air connectivity and open new tourism markets.

In July, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille highlighted the launch of direct flights between São Paulo and Cape Town as part of efforts to strengthen connectivity between South Africa and Latin America. “Air route development is not simply about adding flights. It is about unlocking economic growth, creating jobs and making South Africa more accessible to the world,” de Lille said at the arrival of LATAM Airlines' inaugural direct flight to Cape Town. She said improved connectivity was also part of South Africa's wider efforts to strengthen trade, investment and people-to-people links between countries of the Global South.

The government has also identified tourism infrastructure and access as areas requiring continued investment as the sector expands. For South Africa, the latest figures point to a tourism market that remains heavily supported by regional African travel while overseas markets provide an additional source of growth. The challenge for the sector will be to convert rising visitor numbers into sustained economic activity, employment and opportunities for businesses and communities across the country.