Most international visitors to South Africa remain concentrated in a single province during their trip although the pattern is strongly influenced by African land arrivals.
According to the 2025 Departure Survey by SA Tourism, 91% of international travellers visit only one province while 9% travel to more than one. Data shared with Tourism Update shows that African land arrivals account for the majority of these single-province trips, representing roughly 82% of the segment.
Overseas markets drive spread
While regional land markets dominate arrival volumes, overseas visitors are far more likely to move between provinces.
Among visitors travelling to more than one province in 2025, overseas markets accounted for more than three quarters of travellers, according to the survey data.
South American travellers perform best with 53% visiting multiple provinces, followed by visitors from Australasia (37%), North America (35%) and key European markets such as France and Germany, which range between 34% and 36%.
Longer stays
Length of stay data suggests that travellers who visit multiple provinces remain in South Africa significantly longer.
Across most markets, multi-province travellers spend several additional nights in the country. For example, European visitors who travel across provinces stay an average of 18 nights compared with 13 nights for those visiting only one province. North American visitors show a similar pattern with 20 nights for multi-province travel versus 13 nights for single-province trips.
This pattern holds across other regions, including Australasia and parts of Asia.
According to SA Tourism, the difference in behaviour also translates into broader tourism engagement. Multi-province travellers are significantly more likely to visit natural attractions, participate in wildlife experiences and book inclusive packages.
SA Tourism estimates that travellers who visit multiple provinces spend approximately R26 000 per trip, compared with around R8 800 for single-province visitors, while also staying longer on average.
Trade role in expanding itineraries
SA Tourism said improving provincial dispersal remains a strategic priority and highlighted several initiatives aimed at supporting the development and sale of multi-province itineraries.
These include international and domestic hosting programmes that showcase destinations across multiple provinces as well as trade platforms such as Africa’s Travel Indaba and Meetings Africa.
The organisation also runs speed marketing programmes and year-round trade training to help global and domestic travel sellers better understand South Africa’s geographic diversity and package multi-province journeys.
SA Tourism said its marketing campaigns and content strategies increasingly highlight experience-driven travel themes including wildlife, adventure and culinary tourism across multiple destinations, encouraging travellers to explore beyond a single province.
