SAA São Paulo-Cape Town flights bring in big tourism numbers

Following the successful launch of flights between São Paulo and both Cape Town and Johannesburg from SAA in October and November last year, arrivals from South America has significantly increased.

As per Tourism Update, SAA Spokesperson, Khaya Buthelezi said that around 16 800 passengers had made their way to and from Brazil during the first 90 days of of the airline operating the new route.

“According to the tourism authorities in the Western Cape, for the first three months following the inaugural flight from Cape Town, there has been a 370% increase in two-way passenger traffic between Cape Town and Brazil. These numbers speak volumes regarding the latent demand between the two destinations,” Buthelezi said.

More Brazilians head for South African shores

South African Tourism’s Regional General Manager: Americas, Dinky Malikane also added that they were highly optimistic and delighted by the substantial increase in travellers from Brazil.

“Arrivals from Brazil experienced a 149% rise from January to April this year when compared with the same period in 2023. This uptick signifies a robust recovery of the Brazilian market post-pandemic, driven by strategic marketing efforts and the reintroduction of direct flights,” Malikane said as per Tourism Update.

The new route was SAA’s first intercontinental flight since its’ challenges of recent years.

“The choice of Brazil as our first intercontinental route was informed not only by rigorous economic and market analysis, but also by considerations of the strategic linkages of South Africa in the context of the country’s membership of BRICS,” SAA interim CEO, Professor John Lamola said as per Travel News last year.

SAA FLIGHT SCHEDULE

The current routes take off from both Cape Town and Johannesburg four times a week, with flights from Cape Town going out on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and Johannesburg flights scheduled for Mondays and Thursdays.