10 million

Roughly the number of international tourists who arrived in South Africa last year, up some 13% on the year before.

The figure came up at the annual Indaba trade show, which ended earlier this week.

At the event, Tourism Minister Tokozile Xasa spoke of tourism’s vital contribution to the economy and the need to increase both domestic and international travellers.

Last year, the United Kingdom remained the leading source of overseas arrivals to South Africa, generating 447 840 travellers, followed by the US with 345 013 and Germany with 311 832.

However, 70% of visitors to South Africa come from within Africa. The highest number of these arrivals came from Zimbabwe, with 2 million; followed by Lesotho with 1.7-million; and Mozambique with 1.2-million.

The Indaba also saw the launch of the “We Do Tourism” campaign, which aims to promote domestic travel.

Xasa said, “It is a call to action for all South Africans, reminding them tourism is an important industry for their economy.”