South Africa

The International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until the start of 2021. The ONS have made every effort to produce high-quality estimates for the periods when IPS data is not being collected but have not been able to produce a full set of results. See the 2020 inbound page for more information. Data for 2021 and 2022 was also impacted by COVID-19, more information can be found on the About IPS page.

Due to the above, the latest full year IPS data below is from 2019. You can access data detailed data from 2020 onwards on the latest annual page.

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	<4.1
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	>50
Number of outbound visits (m)	5.2
Most visited destination	Mozambique
Most visited destination in Western Europe	United Kingdom

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2023
Population (m)	60.6
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	13,058
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	0.7
Annual GDP growth (%)	0.2

South Africa Aviation Profile (PDF, 175 KB)

Find out where visitors from South Africa reside in their own country (Excel, 176KB, Published in 2016)

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 23.2493 ZAR

As of 20 September 2023

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from South Africa

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Drag to change year on charts and tables.

Touch the data points to see the values.

OVERVIEW OF UK VISITOR STATISTICS {{activeYear.name}}

Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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	Visits	% total	Visits	% total
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	Visits	% total	Nights	% total	Visits	% total	Nights	% total
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What South Africans think about Britain

South African perceptions of Britain continued to be very strong in 2022; respondents in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index ranked Britain 1st out of 60 countries across a range of attributes.
Among these, Britain scored 1st for 'people' and was also the most desired destination if 'money was no object'.
South African respondents consider Britain as being 'exciting', 'educational', and 'fascinating', and they hold high regard for British films, music, museums, and sports.

Access to Britain from South Africa


Measure	2023
Weekly aircraft departures	35
Weekly seat capacity	11,983
Airports with direct routes in South Africa	2
Airports with direct routes in Britain	2

In 2023, 2 airports in South Africa serve 2 British airports: London Heathrow and London Gatwick
Out of all the airlines to operate the South African to Britain route in 2023, British Airways serves the most departing seats, with a 79% share
In 2023, the highest share of departing seats came from the Johannesburg to London Heathrow route, with a 67% share
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic led to a 66% reduction in direct seat capacity from South Africa to the UK in 2020, 2021 was 90% behind pre-COVID levels, and 2022 seat capacity was 43% behind pre-pandemic levels.
In 2023, direct seat capacity from South Africa to the UK is set to recover to 75% of pre-pandemic (2019) capacity.
The current reduced rate of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for South Africa is £91.

Markets

South Africa