South Africa’s January arrivals exceed 2019
South Africa’s inbound tourism surpassed pre‑pandemic levels in January 2026, with total arrivals up 6.1% on January 2019 and 11.8% higher than January 2025, according to Statistics South Africa’s latest International Tourism Report. Overseas arrivals were 0.9% above January 2019 and 11.6% higher year on year, signalling sustained recovery.
Growth was led by Europe – up 9% on 2019 and 16% year on year – while Asia remained weak, 37.6% below 2019 and down 6.8% year on year. Lee‑Anne Bac, Advisory Partner: Tourism at BDO South Africa, called the results encouraging but cautioned that the US market fell 3% year on year and Asia continues to underperform despite measures such as the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme and the Electronic Travel Authorisation.
Source: Tourism Update
