South Africa’s borders are buzzing
In 2024, tourism contributed around 8.8% to gross domestic product
Image: Nicola Mawson | IOL
South Africa’s borders were noticeably busier in November 2025, as new data showed a sharp year-on-year rise in international travel at a time when government is positioning tourism as a central pillar of economic growth.
According to Statistics South Africa, more than 3.1 million travellers moved in and out of the country during November, a 24.4% increase compared with the same month in 2024. The figures include arrivals, departures and transits of both South African residents and foreign nationals.
The data lands as government ramps up its focus on tourism’s economic role. Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille has pointed to tourism as “one of the fastest growing economic sectors”, saying there is a clear opportunity to increase employment through the industry.
In December, De Lille welcomed Cabinet’s concurrence of the Tourism Growth Partnership Plan 2025–2029, a five-year roadmap developed with government and the private sector.
The plan aims to increase international tourist arrivals from 8.9 million to 15 million per year.
It also aims to grow both direct and total employment in tourism, boost domestic trips, and expand the sector’s contribution to economic growth.
It emphasises partnerships across the tourism value chain and targeted initiatives to strengthen competitiveness and infrastructure.
Tourism already plays a significant role in South Africa’s economy.
In 2024, the sector contributed around 8.8% to gross domestic product and supported about 1.68 million jobs, directly and indirectly, through activities ranging from safaris and cultural tourism to urban hospitality and events.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also highlighted the sector’s importance, saying in his State of the Nation Address last year that the services sector is now the largest part of the economy, spanning financial services, retail, hospitality, tourism and the creative industry.
Against this backdrop, November’s travel figures show foreign travellers accounted for the majority of border movements, with 2.37 million crossings, while 729,108 movements were recorded for South African residents.
Road travel remained dominant, accounting for around 65% of all movements, followed by air travel at about 34%, with sea travel contributing less than one percent.
Of the foreign travellers recorded, 939,654 were classified as tourists, meaning they stayed in South Africa for at least one night.
Most came from Southern African Development Community countries, including Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
Leading overseas markets included Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Holiday and personal travel accounted for the overwhelming majority of visits, according to Statistics South Africa’s November release.
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