South Africa’s arrival figures for January 2026 paint a positive picture of the sector’s recovery with inbound tourism now surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
The latest International Tourism Report from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) shows total arrivals were up 6.1% on January 2019 and 11.8% higher than January 2025.
Overseas arrivals were up 0.9% compared with January 2019 and 11.6% compared with January 2025 led by Europe, which grew 9% versus 2019 and 16% year on year.
However, the recovery remains uneven. Asia continues to lag significantly with arrivals down 37.6% compared with January 2019 and declining 6.8% year on year.
Lee-Anne Bac, Advisory Partner: Tourism at BDO South Africa, said the January results are “very exciting”. She welcomed the strong increase in European arrivals exceeding 2019 levels but noted caution around other markets.
“The key now will be obviously to keep this momentum growing. The big concerns are where markets have declined from last year, particularly the American and Asian markets. The American market is down 3% on 2025, which is disappointing but not unexpected, given the geopolitical tensions and domestic issues in the US,” Bac told Tourism Update.
“The Asian market is very concerning. We are 37% down on 2019 and 7% down from last year despite initiatives like the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme and the new Electronic Travel Authorisation. We need to delve deeper to understand why we are not penetrating this large market more effectively.”
