WATCH: How SA recorded a 32% year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals

By Lebone Rodah Mosima 

South Africa recorded a 32% year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals in October, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille told France’s largest travel agency network on Thursday.

Speaking at the Selectour Congress in Cape Town, De Lille said the October figure pushed year-to-date arrivals to 8.56 million, well above the 7.23 million recorded in the first 10 months of 2024.

“October 2025 recorded 927,426 international arrivals – a remarkable 32% increase compared to October 2024. That’s nearly a million arrivals in just one month,” she said in her keynote address.

France remained one of South Africa’s top five overseas markets, with more than 110,000 French visitors arriving in the year to date, she added.

De Lille said the surge was thanks to the country’s successful hosting of the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

“With 42 countries represented at Nasrec, Johannesburg, our country stood proudly on the world stage: united, efficient,