A child enjoys a water slide at uShaka Marine World in Durban. Total tourism spending within the country reached R779.2 billion in 2024 with domestic travellers accounted for the bulk of this, a new report shows.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers
South Africa’s tourism sector has staged a steady recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic shock, with employment nearing one million and economic contribution strengthening, although international visitor spending remains below pre-pandemic levels.
This is according to the latest Tourism Satellite Account for South Africa (TSA) report released by Statistics South Africa.
The data shows tourism employment rebounding sharply after the pandemic slump. An estimated 777,686 people were directly employed in the sector in 2019, before dropping to 456,311 in 2020.
By 2024, employment rose to 953,981, with the sector creating 185,158 jobs that year. The road passenger transport industry was identified as the main driver of this growth.
In that same year, tourism accounted for more employed people than agriculture, mining and utilities, and accounted for 5.7% of total employment, up from 4.8% in 2019. This means that about one in every 18 workers in South Africa was directly employed in tourism in 2024.
The sector’s contribution to the economy has also strengthened. Tourism contributed R208.5 billion, or 3.7%, to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019. This fell to 2.1% in 2020 at the height of the pandemic but recovered to R361.7 billion, or 4.9%, in 2024.
“In other words, for every R100 produced by the South African economy, R4.90 was generated by tourism,” the report states, noting that the sector is now larger than utilities, agriculture and construction.
Total tourism spending within the country reached R779.2 billion in 2024. Domestic travellers accounted for the bulk of this, contributing 85% of internal tourism expenditure, while inbound visitors made up the remaining 15%.
Although domestic tourism has shown a strong recovery, spending by international visitors continues to lag. Inbound tourism expenditure declined from R121.5 billion in 2019 to R25.2 billion in 2021, and while it has since recovered to R113.9 billion in 2024, it remains below pre-pandemic levels.
The report also highlights differences in spending patterns. In 2024, inbound visitors spent R17 out of every R100 on road passenger transport, while domestic tourists allocated R29 out of every R100 to non-specific products.
The TSA further categorises tourism-related spending into tourism-characteristic products, such as accommodation and air transport; tourism-connected products, including retail items like food and fuel; and non-specific products that are not primarily linked to tourism.
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