South African Tourism showcases European market growth with new film series

South African Tourism’s Europe team has launched four captivating films highlighting the performance and achievements of its regional hubs across the United Kingdom and Ireland, Central Europe, Southern Europe, and Northern Europe for the 2024/2025 financial year.

The films showcase how each hub successfully brought the global “Live South Africa” campaign to life in their respective markets, using tailored strategies to inspire travellers across the continent to choose South Africa as their destination of choice.

Europe/ SA

Europe remains one of South Africa’s strongest tourism source markets, and the campaign’s success reflects the power of creative localisation in driving travel demand. 

The continent recorded a 15.4 per cent year-on-year increase in arrivals in July 2025, while total arrivals between January and July grew 6 per cent compared to the same period in 2024. Notable increases were recorded from the UK Sweden Austria , Belgium , Denmark, Italy, Germany and The Netherlands.

Leadership perspective

Reflecting on the strong performance, the Regional General Manager for Europe at South African Tourism, Ian Utermohlen, commended the efforts of all four hubs for effectively localising a single global message.

“This work illustrates how our European hubs have translated the 2024/25 ‘Live South Africa’ campaign into market-specific strategies that resonate locally while driving long-term demand.

By aligning creative localisation with private sector collaboration, we are deepening engagement, converting interest into travel, and ensuring South Africa remains a must-experience destination,”  he said.