Overtourism is a growing problem for many destinations around the world and one of them might be a popular African country that is loved by visitors from the UK and around the world. South Africa is known for its bustling cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban as well as its safari destinations, the most popular of which is Kruger National Park. However, certain areas of the sunny country might be suffering from too many visitors, some complaitns have suggested. 

In 2024, South Africa received an impressive 8.92 million international tourists, the country's government reports. Second to Africans, Europeans make up the largest number of international tourists visiting this exciting country. However, some South Africans might be feeling the effects of overtourism, similar to residents in countries like Spain and Portugal. Overtourism has been a hot topic of conversaiton as of late and locals in destinations popular with Brits have been protesting against high visitor numbers over the last couple of years. 

But is South Africa headed the same way? Well, some people think so. It is a particular worry for some when it comes to Kruger National Park. 

Concerns have been raised about the effects over increased tourism to the national park, which spans and impressive 19,000 square kilometres. The park is one of South Africa's most populat attractions for international visitors, known for being home to the 'big five' of African animals; lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and rhinos. 

University of Zululand lecturer Michael Brett has argued that too much reliance has been put on revenue generated from Kruger National Park. He said: "One of the core tenets of ecotourism is that it is not mass tourism. As large numbers of visitors can disrupt animal behaviour and create a host of problems, large concentrations of visitors are considered to be incompatible with this brand of tourism."

Meanwhile, frustrations have been expressed in Cape Town, one of South Africa's capital cities. In the trendy neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap, locals are seemingly tired of tourist buses in their area.

A group of local residents protested outside the Bo-Kaap Museum last year, calling for a stop to the 'exploitation' of the area. Osman Shaboodien, the chair of the Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association and one of the organisers of the demonstration told The Guardian: "Tourism has become an attraction in Bo-Kaap, but … it’s a double-edged sword. It brings some money into Bo-Kaap, but very little."

"Bo-Kaap has a tourist problem. First, it’s over-tourism. There’s too many of them that come up here. Secondly … it has very narrow streets and it can’t accommodate these buses. And, thirdly, there are no places for them to park."

A number of cities and sunny destinations around the world are suffering from overtourism, locals have said. Such cities include places like Barcelona and Venice. 

When it comes to toruism in Africa in general, Mefi Pishori Alapat, safari designer for Journey to Africa said in an interview with Travel Weekly: "Overcrowding has become a problem on many African safaris.

"It’s not good for the wildlife nor for the safety of guests, as they are racing for the best spot."