Overseas Tourist Numbers Grow in October

The number of overseas tourists that visited South Africa in October grew strongly, compared to a year earlier.

According to Stats SA the number of visitors from non-African countries to South Africa in October was 238 406, accounting for 25.7% of all foreign visitors. This was an increase of 25.8% compared to the number for October 2024.

Europe contributed the most overseas visitors at 63.5%.

The five overseas countries which supplied the most visitors were, in order, the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, the United States (US), France, and the Netherlands.

Each country also showed strong growth in visitor numbers for October 2025 compared to the same month last year.

The number of visitors from the UK grew by 30.1% year-on-year, the number of visitors from Germany grew by 35.1%, from the US 9.4%, from France 20.8%, and from the Netherlands 10.7%.

Tourism is an important economic sector in South Africa, accounting for about 9% of South Africa’s economic output and around 12% of employment.