South Africa
Introduction
Travellers from South Africa made 5.3 million outbound visits in 2024, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$2.4 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 219,000 visits from South Africa. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was £288.4 million, with an average spend of £1,318 per visit.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. Includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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Perceptions of Britain in the South African market
- The UK is ranked first out of all 50 nations by South Africans in the 2024 Anholt Nation Brands Index.
- South Africans ranked the UK second for vibrant city life/urban attractions, historic buildings, the country they would visit if money no object and the people in general.
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2024 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 2.4 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | >50 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 5.3 |
| Most visited destination | Mozambique |
| Most visited destination in Western Europe | United Kingdom |
Access to Britain from South Africa
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2024 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 35 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 11,019 |
| Airports with direct routes in South Africa | 2 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 2 |
- In 2024, two airports in South Africa serve two British airports: London Heathrow and London Gatwick.
- In 2024, direct seat capacity from South Africa to the UK has recovered to 69% of pre-pandemic (2019) capacity.
- To see rates of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for South Africa, click here.
- To see entry requirements for visitors from this market, click here.
Further resources
Where visitors from South Africa to the UK reside in their own country - Published 2016
Published 2016
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of these data comes from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how this data is collected and analysed.
