Strong Tourism Recovery at National Stakeholder Forum
- WRSA
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
South Africa’s tourism sector has surpassed pre-pandemic performance, with more than 10 million international visitors recorded in 2025. This is 3% higher than 2019 levels. This was said at the National Tourism Stakeholder Forum (NTSF) held at the Capital Empire Hotel in Sandton on 26 February.
Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) was represented by Sarah Forsyth, who serves as WRSA’s representative on the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) Board, and Ilzaan Muller, journalist at WRSA.
Strong recovery
Tourism spending amounted to approximately R102 billion. This is 11% higher than 2024 and 25% above 2019 levels. Overall arrivals are now 3% above 2019 figures, with visitors staying an average of 15 nights. This was given by Melusi Mngomezulu, head of data analytics of South African Tourism.
Mngomezulu explained that Europe and North Asia have recovered to about 90% of pre-pandemic levels, with full recovery expected by the end of 2026. China and Japan remain behind, meaning the Chinese and Japanese tourism volumes have not yet increased to the same level as pre-2020. While arrivals from Russia more than doubled compared to 2019, reaching 41,000 visitors. African markets (particularly Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania) showed strong growth. The USA and Australia surpassed 2019 levels, New Zealand arrivals increased by 42%, and direct flights supported growth from the UAE and Turkey.
International visitors remain the largest contributors to tourism spending. Retail spending reached R31.5 billion, largely driven by land markets. Technical and medical retail grew fastest to R1.3 billion (up 7%), mainly from African air travellers. Holiday travel accounted for R26.6 billion, boosted by arrivals from Ghana, Kenya, Angola, Gabon, and the DRC. Key overseas contributors included the US, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and France.
Mngomezulu ended his presentation by explaining that high-volume markets such as Zimbabwe generate significant spend but place pressure on infrastructure, while long-haul markets, including the USA, UK, and Germany, contribute higher spend per visitor. Strong growth was recorded in Russia, Tanzania, Malawi, and Brazil. Stakeholders emphasised the need to diversify tourism across regions rather than relying heavily on a small number of markets.
Beneficial to wildlife ranching
A stable tourism sector has direct implications for South Africa’s wildlife economy, said Forsyth. “Wildlife ranching is one of the fundamental pillars of South Africa’s tourism economy. Travellers journey from across the world to experience our wildlife, whether through photographic safaris, conservation experiences, or sustainable harvesting.
Ensuring representation at this level is essential to protect a key economic driver and align conservation, community upliftment, and tourism growth for the long-term benefit of our country.”
“Wildlife and ecotourism are critical pillars of wildlife ranching. Our wildlife economy is unique and remains one of South Africa’s strongest competitive advantages. We must ensure that we fully capitalise on this opportunity,” said Richard York, CEO of WRSA.
Tourism growth continues to expand beyond pre-pandemic levels, with emerging opportunities across Africa and selected international regions. Maintaining a balanced market mix remains important for long-term growth.
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