Eswatini records 92,438 January arrivals – up 7.9%
The Kingdom of Eswatini welcomed 92,438 international visitors in January 2026, up 7.9% on the same month last year and 0.6% above January 2019, signalling continued recovery towards pre-COVID levels. Regional performance was mixed, with strong gains from the Middle East (+52.6%), Africa (+9.5%), and Asia and the Pacific (+2.3%), while arrivals from the Americas and Europe declined. The average stay was 2.3 nights, and European arrivals remain 31.6% below 2019.
Top regional markets were South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe; leading overseas markets included France, the Netherlands and the United States, with Tanzania, Lesotho and Malawi emerging strongly. Within Africa, South Africa and Mozambique remained the largest source markets, delivering 58,721 (+3.8%) and 16,137 (+19.2%) arrivals respectively despite regional flooding linked to La Ni?a and climate change, while Malawi (+148.2%), Tanzania (+27.3%), Zimbabwe (+26.9%), and Botswana (+15.5%) also grew. The Americas fell 4.2% to 907 visitors – Canada dropped 48.7% as Brazil rose 43.4% and the United States 0.8%; Europe decreased 13.6% to 3,991, with declines from France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK, though Norway (+45.0%), Portugal (+27.3%) and Italy (+13.6%) advanced. Asia and the Pacific increased 2.3%, lifted by the Philippines (+94.7%), China (+48.1%) and Taiwan (+4.6%), while the Middle East rose 52.6% with Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran (+11.1%) contributing.
Source: Independent News Eswatini
