South Africa’s international inbound tourist numbers decreased by about 10 000 travellers in January when compared with December last year.

According to the latest figures from Statistics South Africa, overall, overseas arrivals decreased by nearly 5% (from 205 684 in December to 195 423 in January).

The decrease was particularly evident in arrivals from the US – dipping from 33 027 in December to 22 447 in January.

Arrivals from the UK also decreased slightly from 41 106 in December to 40 517 in January.

However, arrivals from emerging markets in Central and South America grew from 6 130 in December to 7 149 in January.

January arrivals were at 83.9% of 2019 pre-pandemic levels, increasing from the 80% registered in December last year.

Major increase from Africa

Arrivals from the African continent increased by nearly 120 000 in January when compared with December – jumping from 655 767 to 775 651.

Arrivals from the Southern African Development Community climbed from 639 816 in December to 764 072 in January; whereas arrivals from East and Central Africa decreased from 8 758 to 5 446.

Click here to view Tourism Update’s interactive map of the latest inbound statistics.