Tourism is booming, but is South Africa doing enough to keep visitors safe?

The discovery of the bodies of nine women in Ekurhuleni since July has put South Africa’s safety crisis back in the spotlight, including questions about what it means for people travelling through the country.

The cases have prompted a national response, with a multidisciplinary team working on the investigations and increased police visibility in the area.

Authorities have cautioned that investigators have not established that all the cases are connected. 

The location is significant for tourism. Ekurhuleni is home to OR Tambo International Airport, one of South Africa’s major gateways for international visitors.

Gauteng’s kidnapping figures have also raised concerns. Kempton Park recorded 76 kidnapping cases between April and June 2026, compared with 48 during the same period last year. 

Yet the picture is more complicated than crime statistics alone suggest.

South Africa recorded 6,576,169 international tourist arrivals between January and July 2026, an increase of 12.4% compared with the same period in 2025. July alone recorded 991,696 international tourists, up 12.5% year on year. 

So what does that mean for someone planning a trip?

South Africans don’t always feel safe

Tourists are not the only people navigating concerns about personal safety.

Statistics South Africa’s 2025/26 Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey found that 80.7% of people felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhood during the day.

After dark, that figure fell to 37.9%. 

While these figures relate to residents rather than visitors, they provide important context: perceptions and experiences of safety can change significantly depending on location, circumstances and time of day.

When the journey becomes a risk

For visitors, even getting from one attraction to another can present challenges.

In November 2023, American tourist Walter Fischel was shot and robbed after a GPS navigation system directed him through Nyanga while travelling from Cape Town International Airport to Simon’s Town.

Google subsequently worked with tourism and city authorities and changed the route recommendations so that the route through the crime hotspot was no longer suggested. 

The incident highlighted an important issue for visitors: GPS is a navigation tool, not a substitute for local knowledge.

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille told The National that the Department has since worked with Google Maps on route safety.

“We have an agreement with Google and Google Maps and what Google did was to remove that shortcut via that route,” she said.

What is being done to protect visitors?

The Department of Tourism has also developed a tourism safety programme involving government, law enforcement and the private sector.

While the primary mandate for public safety lies with the South African Police Service (SAPS), the tourism sector is taking active steps to minimise vulnerability.

Key measures include:

• The Tourism Monitor Programme: R174.5 million allocated to deploy 2,305 Tourism Monitors across strategic sites, airports, and national parks to assist visitors, patrol areas, and report incidents directly to law enforcement.

However, De Lille remains candid about the ongoing risks.

“I’m not denying the fact that certain places in our country are just not safe for tourists,” she acknowledged.

The risk isn’t the same everywhere

Dr Anine Kriegler, senior researcher in the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, says South Africa’s high levels of violent crime need to be understood in context.

“South Africa has exceptionally high levels of violent crime, but risk is not evenly distributed,” she says.

Serious violence is concentrated in particular places, at particular times and among particular groups.

A high national or city murder rate therefore does not automatically translate into the same level of risk for an individual traveller.

For visitors, robbery and opportunistic property crime may be more relevant risks.

Vulnerability can increase when people are unfamiliar with an area, walk alone after dark, display valuables, leave belongings visible in vehicles or travel through places they do not know.

Kriegler says Tourism Monitors, private security and emergency-response technology can provide additional layers of protection but cautions against assuming that their presence automatically means crime has been reduced.

“Visibility is not the same thing as effectiveness,” she says.

Her advice is to focus on awareness and preparation rather than fear.

Travellers should seek local advice, use reputable transport, keep valuables discreet, avoid isolated hiking trails and beaches alone and avoid blindly following GPS through unfamiliar areas.

For solo women, preparation starts before the trip

For Nelly Zwane, a solo traveller and Via Nelz Travel and Tours founder, preparation is one of the biggest factors in travelling confidently.

“I prefer booking accommodation at a reputable hotel or established property where I know there are proper security measures and staff available,” she says.

She researches recent reviews, the location and how easily she can get around before travelling.

Her approach was put to the test while travelling to Port St Johns. Roadworks and winding roads caused the journey to take longer than expected, leaving her facing the prospect of driving unfamiliar roads at night.

Instead of continuing, she found accommodation in the nearest town and completed the journey the following morning.

“It was an important reminder that an itinerary is not more important than your safety,” she says.

Zwane also recommends telling someone trusted where you are going, when you expect to arrive and where you are staying.

When travelling alone, she avoids advertising the fact that she is unfamiliar with an area.

“I always tell white lies that I’m meeting my brother or lover,” she says.

She verifies e-hailing vehicles and drivers before getting in and shares trip details with someone she trusts.

As a content creator, she is also conscious of when she takes out her phone or camera.

“Sometimes the safest thing is simply to put the camera away and experience the destination,” she says.

For hiking, she researches the trail, checks weather conditions and uses established routes.

She prefers to join a group rather than hike completely alone.

Prepared, not paranoid

For travellers, the practical lesson from both Kriegler and Zwane is that safety is often about small decisions rather than avoiding destinations altogether.

Research the area before arriving. Understand your route. Choose reputable accommodation and transport.

Keep valuables discreet. Avoid unnecessary night travel in unfamiliar areas and tell someone you trust where you are.

And if circumstances change, change the plan.

Kriegler says local risk can change considerably within just a few kilometres, making broad judgements about an entire city or suburb less useful than understanding the specific area you are visiting.

For Zwane, that preparation should not come at the expense of experiencing the country.

“There is a big difference between being afraid of a destination and respecting the environment you are travelling through,” she says.

“You can be alert without being anxious.”

South Africa’s tourism safety question therefore cannot be reduced to whether the country is simply “safe” or “unsafe”.

The risks are real, but so is the continued growth in international tourism.

As Zwane puts it: “You do not have to choose between experiencing South Africa and being safety conscious. You can do both.”

 Here are some important emergency contacts to have on standby:

• • Police: 10111

zamandosi.cele@nationalmg.co.za

THE NATIONAL