Tourism figures for September reveal significant shifts in how international visitors are entering South Africa, with Mpumalanga head and shoulders above other provinces for international arrivals.
Coastal provinces also showed resilience, with Western Cape recording substantial growth, albeit from a low base, according to the October 28 report from Statistics South Africa.
The data, which breaks down tourist entries by port and province, shows that Mpumalanga was the most popular point of entry, receiving 257 392 tourists in September alone.
This represents a sharp 22% increase compared to the same month last year. The Lebombo border post was the primary driver of this surge, processing 173 765 tourists – an increase of nearly 30% year on year.
Limpopo followed as the second busiest province, welcoming 174 318 tourists, a 21.3% rise from September 2024.
The iconic Beit Bridge border crossing saw 148 641 tourist movements, while Groblers Bridge experienced even stronger growth, up 24.1% to 25 677 tourists.
The Western Cape demonstrated the most dramatic growth rate among the provinces, with tourist numbers soaring 58% year-on-year to 67 084.
Virtually all of these arrivals came through Cape Town International Airport (67 052), with a handful arriving by sea at Cape Town harbour.
Gauteng, the country’s air travel hub, received 165 213 tourists, a 16.2% increase. OR Tambo International Airport remained the dominant gateway, processing 164 903 of these arrivals, while Lanseria International Airport saw a 48.3% increase, albeit from a smaller base.
KwaZulu-Natal also posted strong growth, with tourist numbers up 18.9% to 25 466. The Kosibay port saw a notable 28.8% increase, welcoming 9 811 tourists, while Golela handled 15 655 arrivals, up 13.5%.
However, not all provinces shared in the growth. Northern Cape experienced a 13.2% decline in tourist numbers, falling to 9 278 arrivals. Both major entry points – Nakop and Vioolsdrift – saw decreases.
Similarly, North West saw a 7.7% drop to 36 097 tourists, with declines across all its border posts, including Kopfontein, Ramatlabama and Skiipad Gate.
Free State also recorded a slight decrease of 2.7%, hosting 51 852 tourists. Caledonspoort saw an 11.7% decline, though Ficksburg remained relatively stable.
Eastern Cape saw minimal growth of 2.1%, with all of its 3 068 tourists arriving via the Telle Bridge border post.
The provincial distribution highlights the continued importance of road travel for regional tourism, particularly from SADC countries, while air travel remains crucial for visitors from overseas and other African nations.
The contrasting fortunes of different provinces also underscore shifting travel patterns and the varying recovery rates of different border posts and transportation hubs across South Africa’s tourism landscape.
But tourism experts warn that Mpumalanga’s impressive numbers may be masking a deep challenge, risking the province remaining a “pass-through” economy if visitor inflows do not translate into overnight stays and local spending.
“The data shows 257 392 visitors in September, but most come from Mozambique and Eswatini – many in transit to Gauteng or for same-day shopping,” said Oupa Pilane, special attaché for Tourism Development and Transformation at the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism.
“Less than 30% sleep over in Mpumalanga, and less than 20% of high-spend tourists travel beyond Kruger National Park.”
He noted that despite leading the country in arrivals, tourism contributes only about 7% to the provincial GDP – far below Western Cape or Gauteng.
“Too much traffic, too little treasure,” he said. “Revenue is concentrated inside Kruger while towns like Bushbuckridge, Hazyview, Graskop and Barberton are bypassed.”
Pilane called for a “Kruger-Plus” circuit, border-gateway hubs, and a Stay Another Day campaign to boost rural tourism.
He confirmed that a provincial tourism think tank indaba will convene early this month to finalise a strategy for spreading tourism’s benefits more evenly across Mpumalanga.
