While South Africa’s tourism sector continues to grow, government aims to further grow the sector through several measures which include making it easier for tourists to apply for visas.
“The tourism sector is growing rapidly, with close to nine million tourists having visited our country last year. We will grow tourism through our visa reforms, through increasing the number of flights to key destinations, and through marketing South Africa as the best country in the world to visit,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday night.
The 2025 SONA was the first to be delivered under the seventh administration’s Government of National Unity (GNU).
“As part of our reform agenda, we will continue to enhance our visa system to make it easier for skilled people to invest in our country and to grow tourism,” the President said at the SONA that was held at the Cape Town City Hall.
He said government will launch an an Electronic Travel Authorisation system to enable a secure, fully digital visa application process.
“This system will use artificial intelligence and automation to reduce the scope for corruption and enable rapid turnaround times for tourist visas. We have cleared over 90 percent of the backlog of more than 300,000 visa applications. These changes send a strong message that South Africa is open for business and tourism,” the President said.
Earlier this week, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille said Africa continues to drive the majority of the country’s arrivals, contributing 76% of all tourists from January to December 2024.
This as the latest international arrivals data from Statistics South Africa confirmed that South Africa’s tourism sector continues to grow, with total arrivals reaching 8.92 million in 2024 -- a 5.1% increase compared to 2023.
The Minister said growth from other regions signals steady recovery. Although the sector has yet to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels (2019), it now contributes 8.8% to gross domestic product (GDP) and supports 1.68 million jobs, according to World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates.
READ | Surge in international arrivals a major boost for SA tourism
According to the data, tourist arrivals from the Americas saw a strong 10.9% growth from 2023, reaching 505 579 arrivals in 2024. Tourist arrivals from Europe reached 1 258 706 in 2024, reflecting a 1.1% increase compared to 2023. -SAnews.gov.za
