South Africa
Introduction
Travellers from South Africa made 4.1 million outbound visits in 2023, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$2.4 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 219,000 visits from South Africa. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was £288.4 million, with an average spend of £1,318 per visit.
Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. Includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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Perceptions of Britain in the South African market
- South Africans see the UK as fourth out of 60 nations in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index overall in 2023.
- They rate the UK most highly for its ‘vibrant cities’, ‘historic buildings’, ‘visiting if money was no object’, ‘contemporary culture’ and ‘sports’.
- South African respondents consider Britain as being ‘exciting’, ‘educational’, and ‘fascinating’, and they hold high regard for British films, music, museums, and sports. (2022)
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2023 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 2.4 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | >50 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 4.1 |
| Most visited destination | Mozambique |
| Most visited destination in Western Europe | United Kingdom |
Key demographic and economic data
| Measure | 2023 |
| Population (m) | 60 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 16,437 |
| Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 0.7 |
| Annual GDP growth (%) | 0.7 |
Access to Britain from South Africa
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2023 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 35 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 11,981 |
| Airports with direct routes in South Africa | 2 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 2 |
- In 2023, two airports in South Africa serve two British airports: London Heathrow and London Gatwick.
- British Airways operated 79% of seat capacity on non-stop routes from South Africa to the UK, Virgin Atlantic Airways the remaining share in 2023.
- In 2023, the highest share of departing seats came from the Johannesburg to London Heathrow route, with a 67% share.
- In 2023, direct seat capacity from South Africa to the UK has recovered to 75% of pre-pandemic (2019) capacity.
- The current reduced rate of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for South Africa is £92.
Further resources
South Africa Aviation Profile
Outbound travel to the UK
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.
