statistics of tourism in south africa

Tourism on rise of tourist visits in South Africa

Tourism on the rise as more than 4 million tourists visit south africa in the first half of 2023  .

South Africa’s tourism sector continues to exhibit strong recovery with the first half of 2023 recording more than 4 million tourist arrivals, according to the latest data from Statistics South Africa. This is a significant increase from the 2,3 million tourist arrivals between January and June 2022. The total number of tourist arrivals to South Africa between January and June 2023 showed a sizable 78.2% surge in the first half of 2023 when compared to the same period in 2022. There has also been a substantial increase across all regions in the same period.  Although the current growth demonstrates signs of recovery, we are still operating at 80% of our pre-pandemic capacity. In 2019 South Africa welcomed more than 5 million tourists between January and June. The Africa region continues to bring the largest share of tourist arrivals to the country. A total of 3 083 583 tourists that arrived in South Africa between January and June 2023 came from the rest of the African continent. This is a 79.9% increase when compared to the same period last year when South Africa welcomed 1 714 501 visitors from this region.  

Africa land arrivals increased by a significant 81.6% while Africa air recorded a growth of 44.5% between January to June this year when compared to the same period last year.  We are pleased with the number of visitors that our country continues to receive from the rest of the African continent. This is a testament to the marketing efforts that we have implemented to attract tourists from this region.  Africa remains a key source market for us, and we are committed to collaborating as a tourism sector to make sure we welcome visitors from this region and that we cater for their needs and preferences.  Beyond the African continent, South Africa has welcomed more visitors from other regions too. Between January and June 2023, the Australasia region (mainly comprised of Australia and New Zealand) recorded an increase of 141 % with 50 882 visitors coming from this region compared to 21 108 arrivals in the same period last year.  The Asia region almost doubled its figures with a 99.5% growth, from 47 912 to 95 596 visitors. Europe, the largest source of visitors outside Africa, also experienced solid growth of 66,8.1%, from 356 352 to 594 388 visitors when compared to the same period in 2022.  North America, Central & South America, and the Middle East also demonstrated strong growth trends with rates of 70.6%, 74.4%, and 75.8% respectively. These robust figures showcase South Africa’s charm and attractiveness as well as the work that we are doing in marketing South Africa as a tourist destination of choice. The substantial increase, particularly from Australasia and Asia, underlines and reflects the global trend towards post-pandemic travel recovery.  This is all hugely welcomed because our sector contributes significantly to our country’s economy.  Through various tourism marketing strategies, South Africa continues to invite travellers worldwide to explore our diverse landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and unique wildlife and wide open spaces. These exceptional numbers illustrate South Africa's undeniable allure and the enduring impact it has on travellers. The latest statistics by Stats SA is evidence that the implementation of the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan has gained traction and is contributing to sustained, accelerated economic growth. We are growing stronger each day and we are determined to pass pre-COVID-19 arrival numbers. South Africa is open for tourism, and we are ready to welcome more tourists from across Africa and the globe to experience our diverse cultures and heritage. South Africa was recently honoured by readers of the UK’s Telegraph Travel publication, with the prestigious title of "Best Country," while its iconic city, Cape Town, claimed the coveted title of "Best City in the World." I wish to express my deepest gratitude to all travellers who chose to explore our country and contributed to the tourism sector’s growth and to our economy. The support of travellers, both domestic and international, has played a crucial role in revitalizing our economy and restoring the vibrancy to our tourism sector. I also wish to thank the tourism private sector across the country for all your hard work to grow our tourism offering, promote South Africa as a must-see destination and for your amazing hospitality in welcoming and hosting our visitors.  Enquiries: Zara Nicholson Media Liaison Officer Cell: 079 416 5996 E-mail: [email protected]

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South Africa’s Tourism rising momentum continues

The recent official release of international arrival figures by Statistics South Africa for January to December 2023 underscores the rising momentum of South Africa’s tourism sector.

International tourist arrivals from January to December 2023 totalled 8.5 million, representing a remarkable 48.9% increase when compared with same period in 2022.

Africa continues to lead the Way

South Africa welcomed 6.4 million visitors from the rest of the African continent between January and December 2023, marking a significant 75.6% of all arrivals. Zimbabwe and Kenya stood out for their remarkable growth, with Zimbabwe experiencing a 70.8% increase in tourist arrivals to South Africa when compared to 2022, totalling 2.1 million arrivals, while Kenya recorded a 99% surge when compared to 2022, reaching 42,403 arrivals for January to December 2023.

Strong Momentum from the Americas

Tourist arrivals from the Americas registered at 455,901 reflecting a 39.8% growth compared to the same period in 2022. The United States of America saw 353,975 arrivals to South Africa, marking a 35% increase compared to 2022.

Strength in European Markets

From January to December 2023, South Africa saw 1.2 million tourist arrivals from Europe, a 38.2% increase compared to the same period in 2022. The United Kingdom remains the top European source market with 356,160 tourists choosing South Africa, marking a 25.8% growth compared to 2022 Germany experienced a 41.6% increase in arrivals compared to 2022, amounting to 245,259 tourists This was followed by the Netherlands which saw an increase of 45.5% when compared to 2022, amounting to 131,371 tourist arrivals between January and December 2023 Russia exhibited a dramatic growth of 74.7% when compared to 2022, contributing 28,357 arrivals in 2023

Noteworthy growth from the Asia markets

Asian markets also showed significant growth with a total 199,308 arrivals from the region, representing an astounding 69.1% when compared to the same period in 2022. We welcomed 79,774 tourists from India, a 43.7% growth compared to 2022 Notably, we saw 37,164 arrivals from China, a massive 204.9% surge in 2023 when compared to 2022

Robust Gains in the Middle East

The Middle East saw a robust increase with 54,339 arrivals in the January to December 2023 period — a 33.7% growth when compared to the same period in 2022. South Africa received 16,351 arrivals from Saudi Arabia in 2023, marking an increase of 42.6% when compared to 2022 The United Arab Emirates saw 6,511 arrivals to South Africa, a remarkable 110% increase when compared to 2022

Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille expressed delight at the impressive numbers from the African continent and highlighted the strategic decisions that contributed to the growth in specific markets.

She adds “Kenya’s remarkable performance can be attributed to the strategic decision by government to simplify the visa regime in 2023 as well as targeted and effective insights-driven marketing campaigns”.

“This recovery can be attributed to consistent efforts to showcase South Africa as a welcoming, responsible tourism destination, highlighting experiences that align with intrepid, green economy conscious travellers,” the Minister said.

Minister de Lille emphasised the charm and magnetism of South Africa as a tourism destination, with specific mention of the reopening of the Chinese market and the resumption of direct flight routes in 2023.

Looking ahead, Minister de Lille emphasised the need to unlock barriers such as visa regulations and limited air access and airlift for sustained growth.

The Minister expressed commitment to working with partners and government colleagues to facilitate policy and regulation revisions.

In conclusion, minister de Lille thanked all visitors for choosing to visit South African and likewise thanks South Africans for their continuous hospitality and warm welcome to visitors, expressing optimism for sustained charm, attractiveness, and relentless tourism growth.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Department of Tourism, Republic of South Africa.

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Number of tourists arriving in South Africa in 2024, by region

Number of tourists arriving in south africa as of 2024, by region of residence.

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South Africa is short of academic statisticians: why and what can be done

Academic - statistician, University of Pretoria

Senior Lecturer, University of Pretoria

Senior Lecturer, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Associate Professor of Statistics & Head of Department , University of Limpopo

Associate Professor, University of the Free State

Associate Professor, Mathematical Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of the Free State

Full Professor, University of Pretoria

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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Kwa-Zulu Natal , University of Pretoria , and University of the Free State provide funding as partners of The Conversation AFRICA.

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Our world is awash with data. A 2019 article published by the World Economic Forum estimated that, by 2025, about

463 exabytes of data will be created each day globally – that’s the equivalent of 212,765,957 DVDs per day.

But data is only useful if it can be collected, analysed and explained by experts. That’s where statisticians come in. People like us are trained to make sense of data. Our analyses can then guide organisations and governments in making sensible policy decisions.

Both “data scientist” and “statistics lecturer” feature on the South African government’s critical skills list . Due to the large increase in data available, skilled analysts are needed more than ever before. And so are the academic statisticians needed to train those analysts. Industry’s huge need draws graduates, but this limits academia’s capacity.

We are a group of academic statisticians from South African universities who have compiled a discussion paper to address these issues. We have identified the factors contributing to the capacity crisis in academic statistics, including a lack of collaboration between academics in different academic statistical fields. We’ve also proposed a way to improve both the quality and quantity of, primarily, doctoral candidates in the various statistical fields.

What’s in a name?

There are many “statistical” fields in academia. These include operations research, data science, business mathematics, econometrics and biostatistics. Over the years, a divide has emerged between those who research and lecture in applied statistics and their counterparts in mathematical or theoretical statistics.

Statistics departments are positioned within different faculties across various South African universities, for example within commerce, natural science, or engineering. Sometimes they are stand-alone entities outside these faculties, such as in biostatistics within health sciences or psychometrics within social sciences. Other institutions merge statistics departments with others like operations research, data science, mathematics or acturial science.

Now, as one discussant in our paper pointed out, it is time for statisticians to put aside their disciplinary differences. Instead they must identify commonalities in their fields. In this way academic statisticians can come together to build a network of expertise that can support the development of young academics across these imagined divisions.

This view was echoed by the wide range of statisticians we consulted who work outside academia in various industries. One said that naming conventions of degrees might narrow the pool of those in industry who could provide purpose, guidance and mentoring for PhD candidates in statistics. A doctoral candidate focused on econometrics may not realise that a biostatistician is well equipped to support and mentor them.

We also identified the need to standardise assessment across statistics PhDs in South Africa. Currently every university sets its own criteria. There may be concerns that standardising assessment for what is essentially creative output (novel, innovative ideas) may be too prescriptive. However, we believe that a semi-flexible assessment rubric is vital. This will help to develop high-quality doctoral graduates. It will also guide early-career supervisors to develop the correct goals for their students.

An assessment rubric is an important tool for formative assessment. It allows students to monitor what will be expected of them. It also ensures consistency and fairness in how statistics research is assessed.

A standardised, transparent rubric will also allow institutions across South Africa to maintain similar standards for their statistics PhD candidates. Those graduates can then move easily across institutions and industries across the country.

Supervisor-student relationship

Another gap exists in how both PhD candidates and their supervisors are supported and mentored.

The relationship a PhD candidate has with their supervisor is enormously important, as research from across disciplines has shown. Without sufficient mentoring, early-career supervisors may not know how to nurture a healthy supervisor-student relationship. They may not be aware of all of the intricacies inherent in this relationship, let alone the skills that they should be imparting to their students.

Collaboration is extremely important to help early-career academics – and particularly those supervising postgraduates. Many experienced supervisors in South Africa are retired or nearing retirement. Networks must be created so that newer supervisors can support each other and learn from more experienced supervisors while they are still willing and able to assist. This is also an excellent way for supervisors to identify external examiners for their own students’ work and for developing research networks in their fields of speciality.

Another issue that we identified is that, while there are funding opportunities available, doctoral candidates and their early-career supervisors may not have the expertise to tap into the available resources. This again underscores the value of networking and collaboration.

Now that we have identified critical topics, we have set up a guiding rubric for early-career supervisors in statistics, in consultation with senior supervisors, young academics and industry statisticians. To our knowledge, it is the first of its kind in the field of academic statistics.

The rubric is not designed to be prescriptive. Instead it will be a guide that includes criteria for every area identified as being important to the development of a new researcher. Some new supervisors may use the entire guiding rubric to assist in each important area. Other, more experienced supervisors might choose to use only the assessment section.

• Mathematics
• Econometrics
• University assessment
• South African universities
• Biostatistics
• Data science
• Data analysis
• Postgraduate supervision
• PhD candidates

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