More than four million tourists visited SA in the first half of 2023

The tourism sector in South Africa is recovering well with more than four million tourist arrivals recorded in the first half of 2023, according to the most recent data from Statistics South Africa.

This is a significant increase over the 2,3 million tourist arrivals recorded between January and June 2022.

Between January and June 2023, the overall number of tourist arrivals to South Africa increased by 78,2% when compared to the same period in 2022.

Minister of Tourism, Patricia De Lille said during the same timespan, there has also been a significant increase in all regions.

“Despite recent signs of recovery, we are still only operating at 80% of our pre-pandemic capacity. Between January and June of this year, South Africa welcomed over five million tourists,” she said.

De Lille said between January and June 2023, 3 083 583 tourists arrived in South Africa from the rest of the African continent. This represents a 79,9% increase over the same period in the previous year, when South Africa received 1 714 501 visitors from this region.

“Africa land arrivals increased by a significant 81,6% while Africa air [arrivals] recorded a growth of 44,5% between January to June this year when compared to the same period last year,” she said.
De Lille said we are pleased with the number of visitors that our country continues to receive from the rest of the African continent.

“This is a testament to the marketing efforts that we have implemented to attract tourists from this region,” she said.

De Lille said Africa remains a key source market for them.

“We are committed to collaborating as a tourism sector to make sure we welcome visitors from this region and that we cater for their needs and preferences,” she said.

De Lille said between January and June 2023, the Australasia region (mainly comprising Australia and New Zealand) recorded an increase of 141% with 50 882 visitors coming from this region compared to 21 108 arrivals in the same period last year.

The Asia region almost doubled its figures with a 99,5% growth, from 47 912 to 95 596 visitors.

Europe, the largest source of visitors outside Africa, experienced solid growth of 66,81%, from 356 352 to 594 388 visitors when compared to the same period last year.

North America, Central and South America, and the Middle East also demonstrated strong growth trends with rates of 70,6%, 74,4%, and 75,8% respectively.

De Lille said these figures showcase South Africa’s charm and attractiveness, as well as the work that we are doing in marketing South Africa as a tourist destination of choice.