Mpumalanga leads the pack in international tourist inflows

But most visitors are traveling through or one-day shoppers

- By Mzwandile kaBizokwakhe and Tshwarelo eseng Mokgakane

Mpumalanga was the most popular point of entry, receiving 25792 tourists in September alone, according to Statistics South Africa

Tourism figures for September reveal significant shifts in how international visitors are entering South Africa, with Mpumalanga head and shoulders above other provinces for international arrivals.

Coastal provinces also showed resilience, with Western Cape recording substantial growth, albeit from a low base, according to the October 28 report from Statistics South Africa.

The data, which breaks down tourist entries by port and province, shows that Mpumalanga was the most popular point of entry, receiving 257 392 tourists in September alone.

This represents a sharp 22% increase compared to the same month last year. The Lebombo border post was the primary driver of this surge, processing 173765 tourists - an increase of nearly 30% year on year.

Limpopo followed as the second busiest province, welcoming 174 318 tourists, a 21.3% rise from September 2024. The iconic Beit Bridge border crossing saw 148641 tourist movements, while Groblers Bridge experienced even stronger growth, up 24.1% to 25677 tourists.