Tourism in South Africa is experiencing a rapid recovery, approaching the levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019. While the majority of South Africa's visitors traditionally come from neighboring countries, Germany, and the United Kingdom, there has been a noticeable increase in interest from Asian countries in recent months. This surge in tourism is reflected in the latest data for the first quarter of 2023, which indicates a 102.5% increase in international arrivals compared to the same period in 2022.

It is important to note that despite this growth, tourist numbers are still 21.5% lower than those recorded in the same period in 2019. Nevertheless, Patricia De Lille, the Minister of Tourism, expressed optimism about the industry's progress, highlighting the significant contribution of tourism to the South African economy. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, foreign direct spending surged to R25.3 billion, representing a remarkable 143.9% increase compared to Q1 2022.

Source Countries for Tourists Visiting South Africa:

• Africa: The majority of international visitors to South Africa during this period hailed from African countries, with 1.6 million arrivals.

• Europe: Europe ranked second in terms of visitor numbers, with 387,000 tourists. European tourists contributed the most spending, totaling R10.8 billion.

• Americas: The Americas accounted for 104,000 visitors to South Africa.

Minister Patricia De Lille highlighted the resilience of the tourism industry, emphasizing that the overall foreign spending figure for Q1 2023 came tantalizingly close to the R25.6 billion spent between January and March 2019. Notably, neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe and Mozambique demonstrated impressive spending growth, reaching R4.4 billion (50% higher than 2019) and R1.1 billion (12% higher than 2019), respectively.

However, spending from the United Kingdom experienced a decline of 27%, amounting to R3.2 billion. On the other hand, visitors from the United States contributed R2.6 billion, reflecting a 28% increase from 2019.

The top source markets and travel trends identified by the department in the first quarter of 2023 include visitors from the following countries:

• Zimbabwe

• Mozambique

• Lesotho

• Eswatini

• United Kingdom

• Germany

• United States

• Botswana

• Namibia

• Netherlands

Interestingly, during a parliamentary Q&A session, the Department of Home Affairs revealed the countries with the highest number of tourist visa applications received between April 1 and May 11, 2023. Out of the 1,648 visa applications received during this period, 1,535 were finalized.

Surprisingly, Asian countries, including China, Pakistan, and India, showed the greatest interest in traveling to South Africa, accounting for 35% of all finalized tourism visas. China accounted for 12.8% of these applications (198 visas), followed by Pakistan with 12.7% (197 visas), and India with 9.3% (143 visas).

Below is a table outlining the top 20 countries and the total number of tourist visas issued during the specified period, as reported by the Department of Home Affairs: