South Africa’s tourism story is often told through its global icons: Table Mountain, the Kruger National Park, the Garden Route and the Winelands. These destinations matter and they continue to draw visitors and foreign revenue.
But, if tourism is to become the inclusive economic engine government says it should be, then the test is not only how many tourists arrive in Cape Town, Johannesburg or Durban. The real test is whether tourism creates jobs, enterprises and dignity in villages, townships and small towns that have long sat on the margins of the mainstream visitor economy.
There are signs of recovery and resilience in the sector. International tourist arrivals in 2025 totalled 10.5 million, contributing R779 billion (US$47 billion) to gross domestic product and supporting 1.8 million jobs. This was a 2.6% increase on pre-pandemic levels in 2019, which saw 10.23 million international travellers arriving on South Africa’s shores. For the first five months of this year, from January to May 2026, South Africa’s international tourist arrivals increased by 12.8% to 4 220 586 compared to the same period in 2025.
In 2019, 42 million domestic holidays took place whereas there were 40 million local holidays in 2025. Domestic overnight trip volumes recovered 98% from 2019 totals. However, South Africans stayed for shorter periods – an average of four nights, down from five nights in 2019.
South Africa’s 10.5 million international visitors in 2025 represented a 17.7% increase from 8.9 million in 2024 while domestic tourism spending climbed to more than R133 billion (US$8 billion).
The 2025/26 Tourism Budget Vote has allocated R2.434 billion (US$146 million) to the sector with about R1.3 billion (US$77 million) going to SA Tourism and R331 million (US$20 million) each to destination development and tourism sector support services.
These figures show that the government is again recognising tourism as an important contributor to growth and jobs. But it also raises an uncomfortable question: Is enough of this money reaching the places that need tourism-led development the most?
In my view, the budget reflects progress and imbalance. It is positive that government is investing in destination development, the Working for Tourism programme, grading support, market access and tourism incentive schemes. It is also encouraging that policy reviews are underway, including older strategies on rural tourism, heritage and cultural tourism and domestic growth.
However, the overall structure of the budget still leans too heavily towards central marketing and broad national programmes while too little is ring-fenced for local infrastructure, product development, aftercare support and township and village enterprise growth. If the government is serious about transforming the tourism industry, then the budget must do more than market South Africa to the world; it must build tourism where people live.
The reality in many villages, townships and small towns is that tourism potential is high but the ecosystem is weak. These areas offer authentic cultural experiences, food, music, craft, heritage, struggle history, landscapes and community stories that many travellers are actively looking for yet they are held back by poor roads, inconsistent signage, weak public amenities, unreliable water and electricity supply, limited digital connectivity, inadequate safety measures and poor integration into formal travel itineraries. In too many cases, community tourism projects are launched with excitement and political speeches, only to be left unsupported once the ribbon is cut.
Township and village tourism entrepreneurs often face the same pattern of exclusion: they struggle to access funding, they are not always market-ready, they cannot afford grading or compliance costs, they are overlooked by large tour operators and they have limited visibility on digital booking platforms. Small towns and dorpies face similar constraints. Many of them are rich in history and character but they are bypassed because tourism planning is not sufficiently route-based, regional and deliberate.
The result is a two-speed tourism economy in which major urban and established leisure destinations continue to grow while community-based tourism remains under-funded and under-connected.
What needs to be done is clear:
- A larger and clearly protected share of tourism spending must go directly to local destination development in villages, townships and small towns. This should include basic enabling infrastructure, maintenance of tourism sites, signage, broadband access, safety support and transport linkages.
- Government should move from one-off project handovers to long-term aftercare, business mentoring and market access support for community-owned tourism enterprises.
- Township, village and small town tourism must be integrated into mainstream provincial and national itineraries, not treated as side projects for heritage month or special events.
- Procurement must be used more intentionally so that local guides, caterers, artists, accommodation providers and transport operators benefit from public and private tourism value chains.
- Better partnerships are needed between municipalities, provinces, tourism agencies, community organisations and the private sector so that development is coordinated rather than fragmented.
South Africa does not lack tourism assets; it lacks enough inclusive execution. The country cannot continue to celebrate record marketing campaigns and rising arrivals while entire communities remain spectators in an industry built on their culture, labour and lived reality.
A tourism budget that truly serves national development must invest where tourism can change lives most dramatically: in the villages, townships and small towns where unemployment is high, entrepreneurial energy is strong and authentic experiences are abundant.
If the government wants tourism to be a tool of transformation rather than simply a showcase industry, then the next phase of tourism policy and spending must move decisively from promotion to inclusion, from visibility to viability and from flagship destinations to forgotten places.
