South Africa tourism statistics: arrivals, nights and spend

Where South Africa stands, August 2026

South Africa in August: up on a year

South Africa recorded 1,005,286 tourist arrivals in August 2026, +7.4% on a year and 114.6% of the August 2019 level.

Among the destinations it competes with: Bahrain +0.2%, Jordan +15.5%, Brazil 0.0%, Gambia +41.6%.

From the figures on 20 October 2026Every number checked against the dataNext update when September is published

At a glance

Latest month	August 2026
Tourist arrivals	1,005,286
On a year	+7.4%
Against August 2019	114.6%
Year to date, on a year	+11.7%
Growth rank in Middle East and Africa	3 of 5
Best month on record	January 2026
Trust grade	A, 96

Jet fuel, a gallon$3.72+84.0% on a year/v1/fuel

ZAR per euro18.74rand +10.1% on a year/v1/fx/ZAR

Growth 20261.0%projected/v1/economy/ZA

This brief, its figures, rivals and outlook as data: GET /v1/countries/ZA/briefAnalyst

Tourist arrivals to South Africa, and the change on a year

Tourist arrivalsThe year beforeChange on a year, %

Follow South Africa in Google: add Tourism API as a preferred source and our new figures show first in your Top stories.Add as a preferred source

South Africa against its rivals

Click a country to swap it, or remove it with the cross. Up to six alongside South Africa.As data: GET /v1/compare?country=ZADeveloper

Country	Latest	Figure	On a year	Vs 2019	Year to date	Rivalry with South Africa

The last six months

Month	Tourist arrivals	On a year	Vs 2019	Vs 3-year average
Aug 2026	1,005,286	+7.4%	114.6%	+27.7%
Jul 2026	991,696	+12.5%	115.9%	+30.9%
Jun 2026	823,365	+9.8%	112.9%	+23.5%
May 2026	861,750	+7.2%	112.3%	+24.1%
Apr 2026	989,329	+19.5%	114.1%	+32.3%
Mar 2026	911,962	+12.5%	103.3%	+23.2%

The next three months

No forecast for South Africa yet: it needs a longer monthly history in one unbroken series.

How it is worked out See the full outlook

Who South Africa competes with for visitors

4 destinations chasing the same travellers

Ranked by how much of their visitors come from the same markets, how alike their seasons are, and how close they are in size. Open any of them to see its own rivals.

BahrainRivalry 53

Same season and region

Bahrain, December+0.2% · 1.38M

South Africa, August+7.4% · 1.01M

JordanRivalry 31

Same season and region

Jordan, August+15.5% · 824K

South Africa, August+7.4% · 1.01M

BrazilRivalry 30

Same season and region

Brazil, August0.0% · 576K

South Africa, August+7.4% · 1.01M

GambiaRivalry 30

Same season and region

Gambia, December+41.6% · 28K

South Africa, August+7.4% · 1.01M

Rivalry is worked out from the figures each destination publishes and is remade every day. As data: /v1/countries/ZA/rivals, on Developer and up.

Top origin markets, share of arrivals

Overseas17.8%

Mozambique17.8%

Zimbabwe17.8%

Lesotho11.1%

Eswatini7%

Twelve months 2025-09 to 2026-08Intel

Recovery against 2019115%August 2026 against the same month of 2019, the year before the pandemic.Analyst

Forecast, next 12 monthsn/aNot worked out for South Africa yet: it needs a longer monthly history.Intel

Market concentrationHHI 1,168The top three markets bring 53% of arrivals.Intel

What is held for South Africa

Measure	Frequency	Breakdown	Series	From	Latest
Arrivals	Monthly	Total	5	2010-05	2026-08
Arrivals	Monthly	Origin	139	2010-05	2026-08
Arrivals	Annual	Total	2	2008	2025
Nights	Annual	Total	13	2008	2025
Nights	Annual	Accommodation	1	2008	2024
Spend	Quarterly	Total	4	1960-Q1	2026-Q2
Spend	Quarterly	Purpose	2	1960-Q1	2026-Q2
Spend	Annual	Total	5	1960	2025
Spend	Annual	Purpose	2	1960	2025
Departures	Annual	Total	1	2008	2024

Monthly arrivals: 99.5% of months held since 2010, 1 missing and being looked for. See every month

Get South Africa in one call

# every arrivals month, Developer plan
curl "https://api.tourismapi.com/v1/arrivals?country=ZA" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $TOURISM_API_KEY"

# the whole country in one file, Intel plan
curl -o za.csv "https://api.tourismapi.com/v1/bulk/ZA.csv" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $TOURISM_API_KEY"

Get API key Endpoint docs