South Africa’s inbound tourism recovery has been boosted by a 25.5% year-on-year surge in overseas arrivals for August 2025 as the country’s largest source market region of Europe steadily gains ground after a sluggish few years of post-COVID recovery.
Overseas arrivals totalled 193 135 for the month, according to the latest International Tourism Report from Stats SA. Arrivals from Europe – which accounted for 51% of all overseas visitors – experienced 20.8% growth driven by standout performances from the largest source markets of the UK (28.9% growth), Germany (33.6% growth) and France (18.3% growth).
Arrivals from Europe between January and the end of August stood at just over 845 000, representing a 7.6% increase from the corresponding period in 2024 and 88% of pre-COVID 2019 figures.
Ian Uhtermohlen, SA Tourism’s Regional GM for Europe, claimed that, in 2024/25, the DMO’s integrated marketing campaigns, including localising the “Live South Africa” global brand campaign, buoyed growth from the four regional hubs of the UK, Central Europe, South Europe and North Europe.
According to SA Tourism, the Live South Africa campaign achieved a total consumer reach of 153.2 million and was complemented by extensive media coverage, intensive trade engagements and events and activations.
“Europe remains a critical source market for South Africa and, by aligning creative localisation with private-sector collaboration, we are strengthening our competitive edge,” said Uhtermohlen. “This strategic approach allows us to deepen engagement, convert interest into travel and ensure that South Africa continues to be seen as a must-experience destination.”
Uhtermohlen said the SA Tourism Europe team is implementing the 2025/26 global campaign – “Come Find Your Joy” – in collaboration with the private sector, provinces, SA Europe Missions and its distribution channels.
“We sincerely thank and recognise these stakeholders for their outstanding support and leadership because, even with challenges around airlift and flight costs, we are well-positioned.”
See the video links below for insights into SA Tourism’s Europe activities for 2024/25:
Emerging markets shine, Asia bouncing back?
Emerging markets continued to shine in August led by the Middle East with 82.2% growth from August 2024. Arrivals from Central and South America surged by 63.3% while Australasia experienced 38% growth.
Between January and August, Australasia (with 90 770 arrivals) and the Middle East (45 103 arrivals) exceeded 2019 arrival figures by 11% and 20% respectively. North America (at 303 573 arrivals) also exceeded the comparative 2019 figure by 4%.
Asia, which has been particularly slow to recover post-COVID, enjoyed 21.1% growth in August to 20 634 arrivals but remains more than 30% below 2019 levels for the year to date. While Central and South America experienced 22.8% growth in the year to date, the source market region’s 60 382 arrivals remain 20% behind 2019.
Click here to view our interactive map of the latest and historical inbound stats.
