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South Africa's travel and tourism sector welcomed 9.0 million international arrivals in 2024, with the industry contributing $33.8 billion — 8.4% of national GDP and 1.8 million jobs. These south africa tourism statistics are anchored to WTTC EIR 2025, the industry's verified source-of-truth for 27th-ranked tourism economies.
Hero metric
9.0 million international arrivals (2024)
Source
WTTC EIR 2025
Last updated
2026-05-12
KEY FIGURES
International visitor arrivals (2024)
9.0 million
Domestic trips (2024)
—
Inbound visitor spending (2024)
$6.4 billion
Outbound visitor spending (2024)
—
Tourism GDP contribution (2024)
8.4% of national GDP
$33.8 billion
Tourism jobs (2024)
10.5% of total employment
1.8 million
Key figures
TOURISM GDP SHARE — 5-YEAR TREND
Inbound spending of $6.4 billion versus outbound spending of an undisclosed amount produces a net tourism balance — a key signal for South Africa's external accounts and currency stability.
Tourism GDP grew 7.1% YoY in 2024 vs 2023, reflecting WTTC's recovery trajectory for South Africa.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
South Africa received 9.0 million international visitor arrivals in 2024, according to WTTC EIR 2025.
Travel and tourism contributed $33.8 billion to South Africa's economy in 2024 — 8.4% of national GDP. WTTC forecasts 8.9% in 2025.
Tourism supports 1.8 million jobs in South Africa, representing 10.5% of total national employment (WTTC EIR 2025).
International visitors spent $6.4 billion in South Africa during 2024 (WTTC EIR 2025).
South Africa ranks 27th among the 42 economies in the WTTC EIR 2025 panel by tourism share of GDP.
METHODOLOGY & SOURCE
Every numeric claim on this page is sourced from WTTC EIR 2025 (WTTC EIR 2025 — South Africa, p. 1). Last accessed 2026-05-11. No figures are estimated, modelled, or AI-generated — DataGreat's narrator is locked to WTTC values verbatim.
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