On the back of South Africa releasing its half-year tourism stats, the biggest majority of respondents to our latest poll (40%) said their tourism businesses performed better in the first half of 2025 than the same period last year.
A total of 35% of readers said their businesses performed worse than last year while 25% said the performance was “About the same”.
South Africa recorded a 4.7% year-on-year increase in arrivals from overseas for the period, reaching just over 1.1 million. The country is still at just 89% of the comparative 2019 figure.
Can responsible marketing by operators help reduce overcrowding during the Great Migration?
Much of tourism industry discussion in recent weeks has centred on the refreshed controversy surrounding overcrowding at river crossings during the Great Migration.
The issue has been attributed to various factors, ranging from lack of law enforcement to unethical safari companies, unenforced vehicle caps and an over-density of camps and lodges.
But what role do tour operators have to play in exacerbating the issue?
Our poll question this week is:
