The number of overseas visitors to South Africa grew by 7% in the first two months of 2026, compared to the same period last year.

According to Statistics South Africa, the number of visitors from abroad in the first two months of the year was 458 036, compared to the 426 539 who visited in January and February 2025.

Europe saw strong growth, with visitors from that region growing by 11%.

In January and February 2025 there were 294 292 visitors from Europe – for the first two months of this year this grew to 327 310.

The United Kingdom (UK) was the country that provided the most foreign visitors, with nearly 100 000 visitors in both periods.

In January and February 2025 the number of visitors from the UK was 91 453, growing to 95 117 for the same period this year, an increase of 4%.

However, the strongest growth from a single country were visitors from Russia, with visitor numbers soaring by 41% between 2025 and 2026. However, this was off a fairly low base, with the number of Russian visitors in the first two months of 2026 being recorded at 10 595, up from 7 510 in 2025.

Strong growth was also recorded by Austrian visitors (growing from 5 711 visitors to 6 708, an increase of 18%) and German visitors (growing from 63 640 visitors to 78 172, growth of 23%).

Outside of Europe, the biggest overseas source countries for visitors to South Africa were the United States (US), Australia, and Brazil.

In the first two months of 2026, the number of visitors from the US had been 46 878, a decline of 6% compared to last year. The number of Australians who visited South Africa in January and February 2026 was 15 172, an increase of 9% compared to 2025, while the number of Brazilians visiting was 12 066, an increase of 27% compared to the same period of 2025.

Visitors from South Africa’s two other partners in BRICS – China and India – declined. Visitors from China dropped by 28% in the first two months of the year, falling to 5 094 from 7 044, while the number of Indians fell by 16%, from 11 893 to 9 994.

South Africa’s visitor numbers reflect, in a way, South Africa’s global economic relationships. Most overseas visitors come from Western Europe and the US, with relatively few coming from our BRICS partners.

But tourism is an important industry for South Africa, one that can absorb relatively large numbers of low-skilled workers, and is an industry that acts as an important economic multiplier (the phenomenon of how well money spent then circulates in an economy). It should be a sector that any government that is serious about growing the economy and creating jobs supports strongly.