Tourism in South Africa, reportedly showed strong growth in August, with foreign arrivals up strongly compared to the same month last year.

According to Stats SA, when measured against August 2024, foreign arrivals were up 36.8% and departures 45%.

The number of foreign visitors coming to South Africa in August was nearly 940 000. However, the majority were from neighbouring countries, with about three-quarters of visitors being from other southern African countries, raising suspicions that what Stats SA is counting as tourists are in fact economic migrants coming to South Africa. Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Lesotho were the largest regional sources.

The United States led overseas markets with 36 590 visitors, followed by the United Kingdom at 26 373 and Germany at 13 742.