Stats SA’s Domestic Tourism Survey 2024 shows a clear rebound in both trip numbers and spending after years of subdued local travel.

Households took 33.5 million day trips in 2024, compared with 32.2 million in 2023. Overnight travel also increased, rising to 26.2 million trips from 25.8 million the year before. Combined, this amounts to nearly 60 million domestic journeys in 2024, up from 58 million a year earlier, the strongest total since the pandemic slump.

Spending followed the same upward path. Total domestic tourism expenditure climbed to R60.6 billion in 2024 from R57.9 billion in 2023. Spending on day trips rose from R20.2 billion to R22.2 billion, while overnight trip spending increased from R37.6 billion to R38.4 billion. Most of this money went on transport (R18.5 billion) and shopping (R18.4 billion), which together accounted for more than half of all domestic tourism spending.

Travel patterns shifted slightly. KwaZulu-Natal became the country’s top overnight destination in 2024, drawing 17.8% of all trips, up from 15.2% the previous year. Limpopo followed at 16.8%, while the Western Cape slipped to 15.0%, down from 15.9%. For day trips, Gauteng and the Western Cape remained the two most visited provinces, each attracting about one-fifth of all travellers.

The main reasons for travel were shopping and visiting friends or relatives, while leisure trips made a smaller but growing share. Still, cost pressures remain a barrier, with 42.9% of households saying they could not afford to travel overnight, up slightly from 41.8% in 2023.