Simon Nare
The United Kingdom overtook the United States as South Africa’s leading overseas source market in 2025, as international arrivals climbed to 10.48 million between January and December.
This is a 17.6% increase from 2024 and the highest total on record, according to data from South African Tourism (SAT).
The growth was driven in part by Europe, which SAT said was a critical growth engine, with arrivals from the region up 12.6% over the same period.
SAT said it recorded double-digit growth across key European markets, led by the UK (15.4%), Austria (15.6%), Germany (14.0%), Switzerland (13.2%), Sweden (12.5%), Belgium (10.9%) and Italy (10.2%), while Portugal was the only market in the region to post a slight decline.
“These results reflect not only sustained demand for South Africa as a long-haul destination, but also the impact of highly targeted, locally relevant initiatives implemented by our Europe hubs. Europe has
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