South Africa is an adventure capital of the world

A top destination for adventure

SA Tourism has reported that there is global demand for South Africa and its’ adventure offerings, with more and more tourists visiting the country to enjoy the thrills.

As per Travel News, South Africa currently ranks among the world’s leading adventure destinations for travellers from across Europe, the UK, the Americas, Brazil, Asia, Japan and the rest of Africa.

SA Tourism’s Brand Tracker for 2023, an international brand assessment that determined appeal and demand creation in South Africa’s markets, found that adventure tourists made up 8.8% (722 900) of the country’s 8.2 million arrivals in 2023, with adventure and wildlife as important factors in the country’s tourism attractiveness and appeal.

The survey revealed that the UK, Germany, the US, Netherlands and France were the top five adventure tourist markets by volume. Europe provided the highest proportion of adventure travellers with 65% of overall arrivals into South Africa.

“Adventure tourism is the new gold. Tourists across the globe are seeking experiences over products and prioritising their spending on unique and exciting activities. This trend will continue and allow the country to drive growth following full recovery from the pandemic,” SA Tourism said.

Other key insights

Some other key insights from the survey revealed that North America contributed 15% of arrivals (107 000), followed by Africa with 11% (77 400). Asia, Australasia, the Middle East and South America contributed the remaining 10%.

Another interesting highlight of the brand tracker survey was that adventure tourists to South Africa stayed five nights longer and spent almost three times more than the average tourist to the country.

The survey also found that the Western Cape was the adventure hotspot of South Africa this past 2023, contributing to 85% of all the adventure tourists and 62% of overall spend in the country.