The private sector has been at the forefront of driving tourism recovery since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, as it is a lifeline for the more than 1.5 million people who work in our industry.
The resilience of the private sector in driving marketing campaigns, international trade engagements and sales has produced results that show that the sector will recover, from an international arrivals perspective, to match or surpass 2019 levels.
Davos brought welcome news for South Africa. The announcement that the country will host the World Economic Forum (WEF) Spring Summit in 2027, is more than a diplomatic win. It signals confidence in SA’s ability to host large-scale international gatherings and to position itself as a credible global destination.
This confidence comes at a difficult moment. South Africans are still reeling from the effects of recent floods whose devastating impact claimed lives, disrupted communities, and affected businesses across the tourism sector.
These challenges have been compounded by fires in parts of the Western Cape, placing further strain on destinations and operators. In this context, renewed confidence matters not only for tourism, but for the broader economy that depends on it.
Nevertheless, there are positive indicators for the sector, which include improved arrivals data and renewed international interest in SA as a destination. These gains are real and should be acknowledged. Much of this progress, however, has taken place while instability in the destination marketing system remains unresolved.
Gap between strong data and effective delivery
From where we sit as industry, the gap between strong data and effective delivery is becoming harder to ignore. Celebrating performance without addressing underlying weaknesses risks obscuring the reforms still required to sustain recovery.
SA’s destination marketing capability continues to be constrained by leadership and governance gaps. South African Tourism, as an entity, has a chief executive officer on suspension, no permanent board, no chief operations officer and no chief marketing officer.
These roles are central to setting strategic direction, ensuring accountability and driving execution in a highly competitive global tourism environment. The instability at this critical entity has seen the private sector driving tourism growth almost single-handedly.
Events such as the World Economic Forum Spring Summit in 2027, alongside the many international conferences, business summits and sports gatherings SA hosts each year, require years of coordinated planning, investment and marketing.
The tourism industry, particularly the private sector, has continued driving this long-term work, even during periods of institutional turbulence.
In recent years, the private sector has had to step in to protect SA’s visibility in key international markets through targeted marketing campaigns, partnerships with globally recognised South African voices such as Trevor Noah, and long-term brand-building platforms such as IMAX Las Vegas showcases.
These initiatives required upfront investment and long-range planning, with results typically emerging over time. There are more platforms that the private sector will participate in, alone in 2026, owing to leadership instability at the South African Tourism agency.
The results we referred to earlier are now evident. SA recorded one of its strongest tourism months on record in October 2025, welcoming 927,426 international tourists. This represented a 32% increase year on year.
Growth was recorded across Europe, North America, and the SADC region. Between January and September 2025, SA welcomed 7.63 million international tourists, signalling an increase of 1.1 million more visitors than the same period in 2024. The latest arrivals data due to be released by Statistics South Africa in January 2026 will show a further upward movement.
This performance reflects deliberate decisions taken by the industry to continue marketing SA through periods of uncertainty – helping to sustain jobs, support small businesses and, crucially, protecting livelihoods across the tourism value chain.
Stabilising role
Domestic tourism has also played a stabilising role. Performance at the Kgodumodumo Dinosaur Interpretation Centre at Golden Gate Highlands National Park illustrates this. Since its opening, the centre has welcomed more than 80,000 visitors, mainly from the Free State, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Product diversification is not about adding attractions for their own sake. It is about developing experiences that remain relevant to both domestic and international travellers, while creating value for accommodation providers, tour operators and surrounding communities.
Tourism’s gradual recovery is also reflected in funding flows. Tourism Marketing SA collections increased by about 7.6% between the years 2024 and 2025, indicating that tourism businesses are regaining ground lost during the pandemic. How these resources are deployed matters more. In destination marketing, confidence follows performance, accountability and effective delivery.
Our experience at the Tourism Business Council of SA spanning three decades of engagement with tourism policy, destination marketing and industry coordination shows that sustainable growth is driven by consistent execution and credible institutions, not instability.
The tourism recovery we are witnessing is not an accident. It is the work of men and women in the private sector, who worked hard in various markets to get international partners to sell SA, largely without government backing.
Long-term tourism growth comes from proper planning, leadership, institutional stability and coordinated destination marketing. DM
Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa is Chief Executive Officer at the Tourism Business Council of South Africa.