South Africa’s tourism recovery is stalling for a simple reason: international dollars are trapped in a two-stop loop between Cape Town and the Kruger National Park.
While arrivals edge closer to pre-pandemic highs, entire provinces rich in coastline, culture, and wilderness are being left off the map - and out of the economy.
The challenge is less about a lack of attractions and more about where international visitors choose to spend their time and money.
Much of the country’s tourism economy remains concentrated in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, while provinces with strong cultural, natural and heritage offerings struggle to capture a larger share of international tourism spending.
Why tourists stay on the familiar route
David Frost, chief executive officer of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), said South Africa’s tourism recovery also needs to be considered against the performance of competing destinations.
“Year to date, we are at 95% of 2019 levels,” Frost said. “And 2019 was not our best year. That was 2017, when South Africa welcomed 2,725,855 overseas visitors for the full year.”
He pointed to Kenya and Tanzania, which have recovered beyond their pre-pandemic arrival figures, as evidence of the competitive environment facing South Africa.
SATSA spent much of 2025 examining the geographic spread of tourism. Data from some of its larger destination management company members confirms that most international tourism spending remains concentrated around Cape Town and the Kruger National Park.
“Most international tourism spend is concentrated in Cape Town and Kruger. Large parts of the country remain under visited and under sold,” Frost said.
One reason is familiarity. Long-haul travellers often choose destinations that they already know, and travel trade businesses are more likely to sell established routes that they know will work.
“Getting travellers beyond those established routes takes more than a marketing campaign,” Frost said. “The itineraries need to work commercially, international buyers need confidence in what they are selling and local operators need to be able to deliver the experience their clients expect.”
The Eastern Cape is already making its case
The Eastern Cape is among the provinces looking to change that pattern.
Nokulunga Mnqeta, interim chief executive officer of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, said the province is already seeing growth.
“The Eastern Cape is not waiting for its turn,” Mnqeta said. “The province is already recording meaningful tourism growth and attracting both new and repeat visitors.”
In 2025, the Eastern Cape received 350,100 international tourist arrivals, an increase of 17% from the previous year. International visitors generated R4.3 billion in foreign direct spending.
Domestic tourism is also a significant part of the province’s economy. The Eastern Cape recorded 5.5 million domestic overnight trips in 2025, generating R15.1 billion in domestic tourism spending. It also recorded 32.4 million domestic bed nights and the country’s longest average stay at 5.9 nights.
The challenge is turning this existing demand into greater economic value across the province.
The Eastern Cape’s geography is one of its biggest opportunities but also one of its challenges. Its coastline, wildlife reserves, heritage sites and rural destinations are spread across a large area.
Access roads, signage, transport information and connectivity can determine whether a destination makes it onto a traveller’s itinerary.
Beyond the established gateways
The Eastern Cape is not alone. Limpopo has attractions such as Mapungubwe National Park, Venda cultural experiences and Magoebaskloof.
The Northern Cape offers the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Namaqualand’s spring flowers and stargazing in Sutherland. The Free State has Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Clarens and the Vredefort Dome.
These destinations do not necessarily need to compete with Cape Town or the Kruger. Instead, they can become part of longer routes that encourage travellers to stay for more nights and visit more than one province.
Rob Hetem, special projects lead for SATSA, said this approach is already being tested through tourism development programmes.
“We have built a curated pipeline of market-ready tourism businesses across KwaZulu-Natal,” Hetem said. “These businesses increasingly package routes around other local stakeholders such as accommodation, guides, transport and community-based products.”
Three businesses from the programme were recently selected by Ubuntu Travel Connexions for exposure in German-speaking European markets.
For Frost, building these connections is essential.
“We need to become much better at selling South Africa through strong regional routes and itineraries,” he said.
“The Garden Route works because travellers and the trade understand what it offers and how to sell it. We need to build that same confidence around other parts of the country.”
Making the journey easier
The problem cannot be solved through marketing alone. Frost said connectivity is equally important, particularly access to secondary destinations by air and road.
He also believes that South Africa needs to rebuild its international self drive market, which historically helped spread visitors beyond the main tourism hubs.
Product development is another part of the equation. Lesser-known destinations need accommodation, trained guides, booking systems and visitor facilities that meet the expectations of international travellers.
The Eastern Cape is working on this through destination development, route packaging and market access. The province also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Free State and Northern Cape tourism authorities on August 31 to strengthen cooperation across provincial boundaries.
The aim is straightforward: connect destinations so visitors have more reasons to travel further and stay longer.
For Mnqeta, the Eastern Cape’s future lies in what already makes it different.
“Our objective is to make these experiences easier to discover, easier to book and easier to combine,” she said. “When visitors can move seamlessly from coast to culture, a small town to a protected area, or from safari to beach, they stay longer, spend more and enable more communities to participate in the tourism economy.”
South Africa isn't short on amazing places beyond Cape Town and Kruger; we just need to make them easier for tourists to find, book and explore.
lutho.pasiya@nationalmg.co.za