By Ross Volk, Managing Director, MSC Cruises South Africa
As Africa’s tourism sector continues its recovery, attention must now shift beyond visitor numbers to the key enablers of sustainable growth. The continent’s next chapter will be shaped not only by recovery itself, but by its ability to accelerate development, strengthen connectivity and foster purposeful collaboration across the tourism value chain. To turn momentum into long-term value, Africa needs to build faster, connect better and collaborate more deliberately.
In 2025, Africa recorded the strongest regional tourism growth globally, attracting 81 million visitors. South Africa also performed strongly, welcoming a record 10.5 million arrivals. In the first quarter of 2026, the country recorded 2.91 million inbound travellers, with double-digit year-on-year growth.
These numbers matter. But they are not the story.
The real opportunity is to build the systems that allow tourism to scale — ports, airports, roads, visas, regional routes, destination services, local suppliers and communities that are ready to benefit. That requires coordinated execution across both the public and private sectors.
Tourism growth is a team sport. The destinations that will lead in 2026 and beyond will be those that understand how to move together.
From recovery to readiness
Recovery brought travellers back. Readiness will determine whether we can keep them coming, move them efficiently, host them well and ensure that more communities benefit from their spend.
For cruise tourism, this is especially clear. A ship does not arrive at a single destination; it arrives into an ecosystem. Before a guest steps onto a beach, into a market, a coach or a hotel, many moving parts must work together, ports, berths, terminals, customs, ground transport, local tour operators, safety services, attractions, digital systems and destination partners.
When that system works, the visitor experience feels effortless. When it does not, the destination loses competitiveness.
Infrastructure therefore sits at the centre of Africa’s tourism growth agenda. Modern ports, efficient passenger terminals and upgraded berthing facilities allow destinations to attract vessels, expand capacity and compete for itineraries. Strong links between ports, airports and roads reduce friction and improve visitor flow.
Policy infrastructure matters just as much. Visa processes, border systems and regulatory clarity can either unlock regional travel or slow it down. In tourism, every delay carries a cost.
The continent needs connected growth
Africa’s advantage lies in its diversity. Few regions can offer such a compelling mix of coastline, wildlife, cities, culture, food, music, heritage and business opportunity.
But diversity only becomes commercially powerful when it is connected.
Regional tourism ecosystems will become increasingly important in the years ahead. Travellers do not think only in borders — they think in journeys. They want routes that make sense, connections that work and experiences that feel joined up.
This is where collaboration becomes practical. Governments can align visa and border processes. Airlines can strengthen regional hubs and feeder routes. Ports can work with tourism authorities to improve arrival experiences. Private operators can package stronger itineraries. Communities can develop authentic excursions and services that keep more value local.
No single player can do this alone. Together, the continent can create travel corridors that are easier to sell, easier to access and more rewarding to experience.
We are also seeing traveller behaviour shift in ways that matter for the wider industry. Major events are becoming anchors for extended trips. Families are planning holidays more collaboratively. Short breaks are growing as travellers look for accessible ways to rest and reset. More travellers are also choosing lower season travel for better value and less crowding.
These are consumer-led trends, but their implications are structural. They shape how destinations plan capacity, design itineraries, manage seasonality and spread economic value beyond peak periods.
Africa must widen its tourism story
If Africa wants to attract a broader traveller base, it must also broaden the way it tells its tourism story.
Safaris will always remain one of the continent’s great strengths. But Africa is far more than a bush trip. It is also Cape Town and Johannesburg, Maputo and Durban, Namibia, Lagos and Nairobi, Accra and Casablanca. It is food, fashion, music, sport, design, business events, contemporary art, coastlines, heritage routes and urban energy.
That richness matters because a more diverse narrative attracts a more diverse traveller. It also helps destinations spread visitors across more places, more seasons and more types of businesses.
For cruise tourism, ports are gateways. A guest may arrive by sea, but the value of that visit is shaped by what happens on land. A well-curated shore experience can introduce travellers to local entrepreneurs, restaurants, guides, artists, conservation projects and cultural sites.
That is where tourism becomes more than movement. It becomes cultural exchange. It becomes an opportunity for visitors to engage with the identity, creativity and character that make each destination distinct.
Growth must include more people
The measure of tourism success cannot only be arrivals. It must also be who benefits.
South Africa’s tourism sector supported more than 950,000 direct jobs in 2024, representing 5.7% of the national labour force. The broader ambition is to grow tourism’s total employment impact to 2.5 million jobs over the next five years.
That ambition will require deliberate inclusion.
If tourism growth does not reach small businesses, young people, local guides, transport operators, artisans, food producers and communities, then we have missed the opportunity.
Inclusive tourism is the foundation of long-term resilience. It requires skills development, enterprise support and stronger supplier participation. Large operators must think beyond their own operations and consider the wider ecosystem that supports each journey. Public and private partners must design growth with communities, not around them.
At MSC Cruises, we see ourselves as part of that wider ecosystem. Cruise lines can help bring demand, visibility and connectivity, but the strength of the destination depends on many partners working in rhythm.
The opportunity is now
Africa has the destinations and the people. We must create the demand through our creativity and cultural depth, to position ourselves as one of the most compelling tourism propositions in the world.
What it needs now is coordinated execution.
The tourism economy of the future will reward destinations that make travel easier, invest in infrastructure, reduce friction, tell richer stories and share value more widely. For Africa, the opportunity is significant — but unlocking it requires alignment between ports and cities, governments and investors, airlines and cruise lines, communities and destination marketers.
Tourism growth is a team sport. If Africa plays it that way, 2026 can be more than another year of recovery. It can be the year the continent starts building the tourism future it has long been ready to claim.
