South Africa remains the destination of choice as international tourist arrivals reach new heights, President Cyril Ramaphosa says.
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,” Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly newsletter on Monday.
Global tourism
Ramaphosa said South Africa’s expanding global tourism footprint, supported by intensive destination marketing and branding, is an important part of the country’s public diplomacy.
“The more tourists that arrive from a given country, the greater the likelihood of strengthening diplomatic relations with that country.
“An increase in international visitors is also a vote of confidence in South Africa’s brand appeal, and in our reputation as a safe, reliable, value-for-money tourism destination,” Ramaphosa said.
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Investments
Ramaphosa said major tourism infrastructure investments are expected to further boost the sector’s growth.
“At last year’s inaugural Tourism Infrastructure Investment Summit, eight projects worth R1 billion were launched, signalling renewed investor confidence in our tourism sector. Our strategic destination marketing efforts continue, as does the focus on niche markets such as halal and green tourism to attract diverse visitors.”
‘Every South African should be a tourism ambassador’
The president said that retaining the country’s reputation as a tourism destination of choice is a society-wide effort, one in which communities play a particularly important role.
“Every South African should be a tourism ambassador, and every community a potential tourist attraction. Our country is rich in natural beauty, history and culture, with much of this potential untapped.”
Ramaphosa said government, communities, and tour operators can work together to promote and attract more tourists to regions and locations that don’t traditionally feature highly as tourist destinations.
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