Hotel 247, a 100% Black woman-owned hotel in White River, Mpumalanga, has expanded its restaurant and strengthened its operations following more than R3.5m in tourism and alternative-energy funding, creating five permanent jobs in the process.
British Airways will add Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar to its network from May 2027, while increasing its London Heathrow-Cape Town service from seven to 10 flights a week as part of a wider summer schedule expansion.
Proflight Zambia has expanded its fleet to 13 aircraft after acquiring three BAE Jetstream 41s from Eastern Airways, adding capacity to its domestic network and supporting connections between South Africa and destinations across Zambia.
Club Med’s more than R2bn Beach & Safari Resort investment in KwaZulu-Natal has created 600 permanent direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs, with Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille highlighting the opportunities the development creates for local suppliers and smaller businesses.
Luxury travellers are looking beyond traditional five-star hotel markers, placing greater emphasis on personalisation, wellbeing, dining and connection to place when assessing their stays.
The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting some foreign nationals from South Africa, adding a new consideration for people affected by the policy when travelling to the US.
Ethiopian Airlines will launch a daily non-stop service between Durban and Addis Ababa on 11 December 2026, adding a direct link between KwaZulu-Natal and one of Africa’s major aviation hubs.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the first wave of six priority green hydrogen projects under South Africa’s national green hydrogen programme, signalling a shift from project planning to implementation and investment.
South African petrochemical company Sasol signed an agreement to supply co-processed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to luxury tourism outfit, White Desert, for its polar trips to Antarctica, company officials said.
South Africa’s tourism recovery is being fuelled increasingly by visitors from elsewhere in Africa, with arrivals from the continent growing 14.3% so far in 2026 compared with 5.7% growth from overseas markets.
