SAT Europe films highlight Europe’s strong growth momentum
The films showcase the performance updates and highlights from its four regional hubs, UK/Ireland Hub, Central Europe Hub (Germany, Switzerland & Austria), South Europe Hub (France, Italy, Spain & Portugal) and North Europe Hub (Netherlands, Belgium & Sweden), for the 2024/2025 financial year.
Europe continues to be a key contributor to South Africa’s tourism sector, and this film series underscores the importance of localised strategies in driving awareness, boosting arrivals, and increasing traveller spend.
Further, this demonstrates the creativity, focus, and innovation that each hub has applied to ensure that South Africa is seen not only as a holiday destination but also as a place of meaningful connections and memorable experiences.
South Africa's tourism recovery: Beyond the numbers
Europe’s strong growth momentum
Europe continued its strong growth momentum, achieving a 15.4% year-on-year increase in arrivals in July 2025.
Overall, arrivals between January and July 2025 grew by 6% compared to the same period in 2024, reinforcing Europe’s sustained upward trajectory. Strong growth was recorded in July for the UK (+32%), Sweden (+19.8%), Austria (+18%), Belgium (+16%), Denmark (+16%), Italy (+11.6%), Germany (+11%), and The Netherlands (+10.3%).
- UK and Ireland
- Central Europe
- South Europe
- North Europe
In the UK and Ireland, the strategy delivered a powerful and far-reaching impact, ensuring that Live South Africa reached millions.
Partnerships with airlines, high-visibility media placements, and a strong digital presence, including exceptional traction on TikTok, drove high levels of engagement.
Celebrity activations further boosted visibility, with Gary Barlow’s wine tour and Andy Peters’ live broadcasts providing audiences with immersive glimpses of South Africa’s cuisine, culture, and breathtaking scenery, particularly during the UK’s colder months.
The hub also put a strong emphasis on engaging the travel trade, rolling out campaigns across 19 cities with a focus on sustainability, dispersal beyond the main gateways, and training for travel agents.
Central Europe maintained “Live South Africa” at the core of its activities, with an emphasis on motivating travellers through South Africa’s diversity of wildlife, cultural richness, and responsible tourism credentials.
The campaign tackled well-known barriers in the market, including strong competition from other destinations, perceptions around safety, and the challenge of flight costs.
By positioning South Africa as a life-changing destination, the hub created an emotional pull that resonated with travellers, inspiring both first-time and repeat visits. Through a robust campaign ecosystem, the hub successfully reignited demand and reinforced South Africa’s reputation as an outstanding value-for-money option.
In South Europe, the campaign adopted an integrated 360-degree communications approach that amplified awareness, encouraged arrivals, and increased expenditure.
This hub inspired transformative travel by inviting prospects to experience deep emotional bonds with South Africa’s people, landscapes, and culture.
The approach highlighted adventure through nature and wildlife, amplified authentic cultural encounters via influencer and media activations, and aligned strongly with growing interest in sustainable tourism.
Across North Europe, the hub focused on putting locals at the centre of all work delivered between 2022 and 2024, to amplify familiarity, responsible tourism, and grow South Africa's welcome.
This has been in alignment with Northern Europe insights and has earned the hub awards for the creative execution of this work.
This consumer focus also enabled the hub to achieve good growth and recovery (double-digit growth percentage across all markets in the hub for July 2025), while continuing to unlock new customer acquisition through trade collaboration, growing market access opportunities and amplifying the middle market pricing opportunity across different provinces.
The Netherlands, as the third largest source market out of Europe, was also only one of two markets to have travellers visit all nine provinces in 2024.
Strategic approach
Collectively, the four European hubs, in partnership with the private sector, demonstrated how South African Tourism’s Europe team has been able to take a single global message and localise it effectively to address the distinct motivations and challenges of each market.
Reflecting on the performance highlights, Ian Utermohlen, regional general manager for Europe at South African Tourism, notes, “This work illustrates how our European hubs have successfully translated the 2024/25 Live South Africa campaign into market-specific strategies that not only resonate locally but also drive long-term demand.
“Europe remains a critical source market for South Africa, and by aligning creative localisation with private sector collaboration, we are strengthening our competitive edge.
“This strategic approach allows us to deepen engagement, convert interest into travel, and ensure that South Africa continues to be seen as a must-experience destination for its exceptional people, places, and stories."
Strong results
With strong results across all hubs, South African Tourism’s Europe region is demonstrating the power of creativity and localisation in tourism promotion.
By positioning South Africa as a destination that delivers adventure, cultural depth, affordability, and unforgettable experiences, the Europe team is ensuring that the country remains a top choice for long-haul travellers.
The creative films not only celebrate the successes of the past financial year but also reinforce the commitment to keeping South Africa firmly in the hearts and minds of European travellers.
Now the Europe Team works to localise and execute the global campaign,Come Find Your Joy for the 2025/26 fiscal year.
