Sustainable tourism is an evolving segment within the global travel and hospitality industry that prioritises environmental conservation, cultural integrity, and community well-being while offering enriching visitor experiences. It includes tourism activities that are designed and managed to minimise negative social, economic, and environmental impacts, and maximise long-term benefits for destination communities, local economies, and ecosystems.

This opportunity is a result of the growing global awareness of climate change, resource depletion, and over-tourism — challenges that have prompted consumers, governments, and industry players to reconsider how tourism is planned and delivered. Sustainable tourism encompasses a wide array of practices, such as eco-lodging, community-based tourism, responsible wildlife interactions, carbon offset travel, and the use of renewable energy and local sourcing in hospitality operations.

Key stakeholders include national tourism boards, local communities, environmental NGOs, hospitality providers, tour operators, policymakers, and travellers themselves. Businesses and destinations are increasingly adopting internationally recognised sustainability standards and certifications such as those from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) to ensure transparent and measurable impact.

As the global travel industry recovers and reimagines its future post-pandemic, the rise of sustainable tourism presents vast opportunities for entrepreneurs, local communities, and investors to create innovative solutions. In this article, we assess the sustainable tourism market opportunity in South Africa to identify its potential and key strategic considerations for entrepreneurs entering this sector.

The global sustainable tourism industry size is estimated to be $3.17 trillion in 2025. Meanwhile, the size of South Africa’s sustainable tourism industry is expected to reach $9.18 billion (R162.93 billion) in 2025. The World Travel Tourism Council predicts the tourism industry will contribute R659.8 billion to South Africa’s economy, which means that the sustainable tourism sector represents approximately 25% of the tourism industry’s value added. This highlights the immense potential of the segment for SMMEs and startups.

We estimate that the global sustainable tourism market will grow by 15% per year from 2025 to 2030, reaching $6.38 trillion by 2030. South Africa’s sustainable tourism industry is also expected to experience healthy growth, reaching $16.06 billion by 2030. The fast growth rate is the hallmark of an emerging market, which entrepreneurs should capitalise on as soon as possible.

The surge in sustainable tourism in South Africa is driven by several key environmental, political and social factors.

Importance of Economic Inclusion. If South Africa is to create a sustainable tourism industry, it is imperative to ensure the industry creates adequate jobs for women and the youth in the country. Between 2019 and 2020, 353000 females supported by the tourism industry sector lost their jobs. As illustrated below, there are signs of recovery in terms of female employment in the industry. Nonetheless, work still needs to be done to reach pre-pandemic levels of female employment. Despite the recent job losses, gender parity is not an impossible task in South Africa, as females represent 46-48% of employees in terms of direct or indirect tourism jobs. This is higher than the continent’s 36%.

Although South Africa’s tourism industry leads the way in female employment, it is significantly behind the average African country in terms of youth employment: South Africa’s youth account for 9.5% of direct industry employees while the average for the continent is 17%.

Due to these labour market challenges, job creation is a vital component in South Africa’s Tourism Recovery Plan.

Environmental Impact. Tourism’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa is slightly higher than the continent’s average, yet lower than the global average. The country’s greenhouse gas emissions per USD of GDP are significantly higher than the global and Africa’s averages, as illustrated in the graph below.

Sustainable Tourism Policies. Local governing bodies have implemented various initiatives and policies to encourage sustainable and responsible practices within the industry.

Booking.com’s latest travel & sustainability report offers valuable insights into consumers’ perceptions about sustainable tourism. According to survey results, sustainable travel remains a priority for 84% of global travellers, with 93% expressing a desire to make more eco-conscious choices. Compared to just 42% in 2016, this marks a significant shift in behaviour and awareness over the past decade. Furthermore, travellers have increasingly adopted habits that reduce waste and energy use, such as turning off air conditioning when not in use. By 2023, this practice rose to 67%. Travellers are also now considering the social and economic impact of their trips, including avoiding peak seasons (39%) and choosing less crowded destinations (36%).

The report also revealed that nearly half (48%) of travellers feel tourism levels in their area are appropriate, but many still experience negative effects such as traffic (38%), littering (35%), overcrowding (30%), and rising living costs (29%). However, only 16% support limiting tourist numbers. Instead, residents prefer investments in infrastructure, like better transport (38%), waste management (37%), and environmental conservation (32%). Positively, over half observe tourists respecting local customs (53%) and supporting local businesses (54%). This aligns with travellers’ personal values—73% want their spending to benefit local communities, and 77% seek culturally authentic experiences that reflect the places they visit.

The Green Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa (2023) explained several prevalent challenges facing the local tourism industry. Below are 3 key challenges which we believe stand in the way of sustainable tourism:

Significant Skills Shortage: The Paper highlighted that the tourism sector faces a significant skills shortage that fails to meet industry demands. This is largely due to poor coordination between relevant sectors in identifying and addressing skills needs, resulting in ineffective training and limited employment outcomes. Access to quality training, internships, and mentorship—particularly for previously disadvantaged groups—remains inadequate. At the school level, weak career guidance and a lack of multidisciplinary education leave learners unprepared for the sector’s complexity. Skills development remains overly focused on entry-level roles, with little emphasis on advanced skills or entrepreneurship. Additionally, the rise of digitalisation requires future-ready, adaptive training programs that are not yet widespread.

Infrastructure Challenges and Tourist Accessibility: The Report states that the industry is suffering from relatively low support infrastructure, poor maintenance, and poor implementation and management practices in South Africa. Without adequate infrastructure investment and maintenance, the industry’s ability and capacity to attract tourists will be weakened. Furthermore, more work needs to be done to foster intra-African travel beyond the SADC region.

Neglected Rural and Peri-Urban Destinations: The paper emphasised the need to prioritise investing in untapped rural and peri-urban destinations in South Africa. Many of these regions are characterised by poor infrastructure, development and inadequate investment, which inevitably leads to low tourist activity. Financial institutions are reluctant to invest in such areas due to short lease periods on land. Such areas are also subject to many land disputes and regulations, which must be resolved in order to unlock sustained tourism growth. Addressing these challenges can lead to job creation, improved livelihoods and economic growth within the local communities.

Although efforts are being made to drive the local industry towards a sustainable future, both public and private institutions must collaborate to ensure the successful implementation of the National Tourism Recovery Plan. Entrepreneurs will play a significant role by creating solutions which align with National objectives and improve the social, economic and environmental state of South Africa. Some key targets from the recovery plan include:

These targets and the challenges highlighted earlier present opportunities for business owners in South Africa. Here are a few business ideas for entrepreneurs who want to tap into the Sustainable Tourism market.

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