Who can afford a holiday? These people

Based on Statistics South Africa's expenditure data, the average day trip cost about R648 and the average overnight trip about R1,670.

South Africans took fewer domestic trips in 2025 than the year before, yet spent more getting there.

Statistics South Africa’s Domestic Tourism Survey recorded 29.1 million day trips, down from 33.5 million in 2024, and 24.5 million overnight trips, down from 26.2 million.

Total expenditure still rose, from R60.6 billion to R63.2 billion – day trip spending edged up from R22.2 billion to R22.7 billion, while overnight spending climbed from R38.4 billion to R40.5 billion.

The most commonly cited reason for not travelling was money. Among those who skipped day trips, 42.9% blamed financial constraints in 2025, up from 41.8% the previous year. For overnight trips, the proportion rose from 42.9% to 43.6%.

Based on the survey’s expenditure data, the average day trip cost about R648 and the average overnight trip about R1,670. These are averages drawn from what travellers reported spending – not quoted prices, and not what every household paid.

The gap between the two reflects the obvious: overnight travel adds accommodation to the bill. A day trip might cover transport, food, shopping and an activity. An overnight stay adds a bed, and often more meals.

Reported spending varied considerably across population groups. For day trips, white travellers spent an average of R798 and Indian/Asian travellers R427, with black African travellers at R601 and coloured travellers at R540.

For overnight trips, the range was wider – from R1,397 among black African travellers to R3,274 among white travellers, with coloured travellers at R1,643 and Indian/Asian travellers at R2,979.

These figures describe what people spent, not what they can afford. They say nothing about household wealth or disposable income.

Statistics South Africa's figures paint a picture of tourism spending.

Average monthly take-home pay among the roughly 2.1 million salary earners tracked by the PayInc Net Salary Index stood at R21,689 in September 2026 — 1.8% higher in nominal terms than a year earlier. In real terms, after adjusting for inflation, it was 2.6% lower.

A nominal raise that does not keep pace with prices is, in effect, a pay cut. And a holiday competes with food, transport, housing, debt and school fees before it gets a look in.

Neither the salary data nor the tourism survey proves that falling real earnings caused the drop in domestic trips. But taken together, they sketch a household under pressure — and one that has to think harder about non-essential spending.

Domestic travel is not only leisure, which complicates any attempt to put a price on a holiday.

Visiting friends and relatives remained the leading reason for overnight travel in 2025, though its share dipped from 50.4% to 48.2%. Leisure travel grew from 21.6% to 24.2%. Funerals accounted for 12% of overnight trips, up from 11.2%.

For day trips, shopping was the most common purpose in both years, followed by visiting family and leisure.

Purpose matters for cost. Someone staying with relatives pays nothing for accommodation. A leisure traveller might pay for lodging, meals and activities. Transport — whether a private car, taxi or bus — adds to the bill either way.

More money flowed through the domestic travel sector in 2025 despite fewer trips. That does not mean travel got cheaper or that more households could afford it.

With real wages eroded and financial constraints the most frequently cited barrier to travel, the question for many households is not where to go. It is whether there is enough left after the essentials to go anywhere at all.

Methodology note: Average expenditure figures of R648 for day trips and R1,670 for overnight trips were calculated by dividing Stats SA’s estimated expenditure on most recent trips by the number of most recent trips reported.

These are calculated averages, not prices. Stats SA’s R63.2 billion total extrapolates from most recent trip expenditure to the full year. The PayInc index covers a defined group of salary earners and is not representative of all South African households. The two data sets provide context but do not establish a causal link between falling real salaries and fewer trips.