South Africa sees nearly 1M tourists, but arrivals from India and China drop

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South Africa welcomed 991,696 overnight international tourists in July, an increase of 12.5% from a year earlier.[Gemini Generated Image] South Africa received 991,696 overnight international tourists in July, 12.5% more than a year earlier. Visitors from SADC countries accounted for almost four out of every five tourists. Indian arrivals fell 26.9%, while the number of visitors from China declined 20%. The official figures do not establish whether visas, flight prices, weak capacity or economic conditions caused the Asian decline. ADVERTISEMENT Read Also markets Glencore faces $1.4 billion lawsuit threat while pursuing $9 billion Congo copper and cobalt deal markets EU formally challenges Sappi’s $1.66 billion plan to create Europe’s biggest paper producer markets Morocco’s phosphate giant plans $450 million US fertiliser plant, America’s first in more than 40 years window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-mid-n', container: 'taboola-thumbnails-mid-1', placement: 'Thumbnails Mid 1', target_type: 'mix' }); The country recorded 991,696 overnight tourists during the month, an increase of 12.5% from 881,393 a year earlier, according to Statistics South Africa. Indian arrivals fell 26.9% to 3,808. The number of Chinese tourists declined 20% to 2,669.

The contrast shows that South Africa’s tourism growth is being driven largely by visitors from neighbouring African countries rather than the two Asian markets the government has repeatedly identified as important sources of future growth.

Countries in the Southern African Development Community supplied 785,469 tourists in July.

That represented approximately 79% of South Africa’s total overnight visitors for the month. SADC arrivals increased 14.9% from a year earlier.

Calculations based on the official figures indicate that the region generated approximately 92% of South Africa’s net annual increase in tourists during July.

Another 11,751 tourists came from African countries outside SADC, while overseas markets provided 193,637 visitors.

DON'T MISS THIS:South Africa welcomes 5.6 million tourists in six months as African travellers power double-digit tourism boom

Europe remained the largest overseas source region, with 97,461 tourists. North America supplied 41,037.

France, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recorded increases.

The United States declined slightly, while the United Kingdom also recorded a small fall.

The weakness in China and India extends beyond a single month. Indian arrivals fell 30.8% during the first seven months of 2026, while Chinese arrivals declined 23.8%.

South Africa is targeting travellers from China and India, but arrivals from both countries fell sharply during July. [Gemini Generated Image] BI Africa South Africa received 29,525 Indian visitors and 18,031 Chinese tourists during the seven-month period.

Total arrivals from Asia fell 10.3% in July and 11.7% between January and July.

The performance is significant because China and India are among the world’s largest outbound tourism markets.

DON'T MISS THIS: South Africa's tourism sector takes a hit as African travellers cancel trips over anti-migrant unrest

South African tourism authorities have promoted both countries as sources of high-growth leisure and business travel.

Before the pandemic, Chinese arrivals were substantially higher, while India supplied a large base of travellers with family, cultural and commercial connections to South Africa.