By Cyril Ramaphosa
Our country’s reputation as a premier global tourism destination has been buoyed by a major milestone. Between January and December 2025 approximately 10.5 million tourists visited South Africa, which is the highest number of international arrivals on record.
This surpasses the number of visitors we welcomed before the COVID-19 pandemic and is a vote of confidence in a sector that continues to show great potential for further growth.
Every visitor to our country contributes to our foreign revenue earnings, supports local businesses, bolsters local economies and helps to create and sustain jobs.
It is estimated that tourism currently sustains 1.8 million direct and indirect jobs, with one job created for every 13 international arrivals. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism contributes nearly 9% to our country’s GDP.
South Africa’s expanding global tourism footprint, supported by intensive destination marketing and branding, is an important
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