Tourism in SA has long been considered as a potential key driver of employment, economic growth, and transformation.
According to the government, SA recorded a significant increase in international tourist arrivals between January and September 2025.
Figures released by the department of tourism indicate that more than 7.6-million tourists were welcomed to SA during this period. The strong growth was particularly from key markets in Africa, Europe, and Asia.
This growth by more than 1.1 visitors, compared to the same period a year before, has been hailed as reflecting sustained recovery and renewed confidence in the country as a premier global tourism destination.
This is because SA is home to some of the most sought-after destinations – thanks to our unique attractions made of cultural and historic landmarks. Growing our tourism footprint augurs well for our economy, which has been struggling to grow to meet our developmental goals. With increased tourism comes greater foreign earnings, job creation opportunities, and tourism business stimulation.
But taking into consideration the competition in this sector, especially from other African states, SA can ill-afford to sit on its laurels and become complacent with the good news. We must ensure that the country remains what visitors will most likely think of when they plan their vacation or experience in the safari.
Many attractions in SA are yet to be exploited to the maximum due to a lack of investment in safe public transport, infrastructure, and accommodation.
The hosting of the G20 summit later this month represents a massive opportunity never to be missed to capitalise on SA’s relative stability and safety as a selling point.
The rising number of visitors to our shores is a welcome upshot, but we must ensure that the visitors are staying longer and spending more to boost our economy. The G20 Summit also presents a perfect opportunity to enhance SA’s reputation as the best tourist destination in the entire African continent.
Besides the obvious benefits of this being the creation of much-needed jobs for locals and stimulating economic growth, it would also do SA a great deal of good in dispelling perceptions about safety in the country.
We must, therefore, build on this tourism success story by cutting red tape at entry points, training transport operators to provide hospitality to visitors, and empowering communities to participate in the tourism sector.
With the festive season fast approaching, we must aim to double the numbers of visitors to this country to lay a solid foundation for a turnaround for our economy.
Sowetan
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