South Africa’s next tourism opportunity lies beyond the postcard

Source: Lisa Segodi, Director, Batsumi Travel

South Africa welcomed more than 5.58 million international tourists between January and June 2026, a 12.3% increase compared with the same period last year. Arrivals from elsewhere in Africa grew by 14.3%, while overseas arrivals increased by 5.6%.

Those numbers are encouraging. But they also make me think about what we do once we have successfully brought people here. How do we encourage them to stay longer? How do we get them to travel beyond the traditional tourism hubs? And how do we turn a visit to a famous attraction into a deeper connection with the country?

I believe the answer lies in our stories.

Tourism should be about more than seeing a place

September is an important moment to have this conversation. Tourism Month puts a spotlight on South Africa's tourism offering, while Heritage Month invites us to reflect on the history, cultures and traditions that shape our identity.

For me, the connection between the two is powerful. Travel is increasingly about more than simply seeing a destination. People want to understand the places they visit. They want food, culture, history, local experiences and encounters that feel authentic.

That is what turns a holiday into a memory.

South Africa has an extraordinary depth of stories to offer. Some stretch back thousands of years. Others tell the story of kingdoms that traded across continents, communities that fought for freedom, and traditions and knowledge that continue to be passed from one generation to the next.

The opportunity is to make those stories part of the tourism proposition.

Instead of simply asking travellers to visit our most famous attractions, we should encourage them to ask a different question: What is the story of this place?

We should connect the dots

This doesn't mean South Africa should move away from its iconic attractions. The safari should still be on the itinerary. So should Cape Town, the beaches, the Winelands and our extraordinary natural landscapes.

But we should be better at connecting the dots. If someone comes to South Africa for the wildlife, what else can we show them while they're here?

If they visit Cape Town, can we introduce them to the story of District Six? If they travel through Limpopo, can Mapungubwe become part of their journey? If they are interested in history, can we connect them with the communities and cultural experiences that bring that history into the present?

This is where I believe we can make a real difference to the tourism journey - encouraging people to travel further, stay longer and experience more of South Africa.

And that opportunity extends to domestic tourism too.

We need to become tourists in our own country too

As South Africans, we can sometimes be quick to look overseas for new experiences without realising how much remains to be discovered within our own borders. Heritage and storytelling give us another reason to explore our own country and see familiar places differently.

There is still so much of South Africa that many of us have never experienced or, perhaps more importantly, never taken the time to understand.

What does it mean to visit Mapungubwe if you are South African and learn about a kingdom that was trading internationally centuries ago? What does it mean to walk through Soweto and understand the history of the 1976 uprising while also experiencing the community, creativity and culture that exists there today? What can visiting the KwaZulu-Natal Battlefields teach us about the complex history that shaped the country we live in?

These aren't simply tourism experiences. They are opportunities for South Africans to understand where we come from, how our country was shaped, and the many cultures and communities that continue to shape it.

South Africa has no shortage of extraordinary places to visit.

Our challenge now is not necessarily to find more attractions to put on the postcard. It is to help travellers understand the stories behind the places they already want to see.

The opportunity is to move from seeing South Africa to experiencing it.

The postcard might convince someone to book the flight. But the story can encourage them to stay another few days, travel another few hundred kilometres, meet another community and discover another part of the country.

That is the opportunity in front of us.

We shouldn't just be selling South Africa's postcard attractions; we should be selling the stories behind them.

Because the postcard can get people here. The story can make them connect with the country.