South African Tourism is proud to announce its double victory at the International Tourism Film Festival Africa (ITFFA) for the recognition of its innovative "Live South Africa" campaign localized for a North Europe audience, aimed at attracting travellers from the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden (North Europe) to experience and “live” South Africa through the eyes of locals. January to April 2025 arrival statistics recorded 80 787 arrivals from North Europe, reflecting a 5.8% increase in travellers from the region compared to the same period in 2024. The Netherlands, responsible for approximately 65% of the hub’s arrivals, has also achieved a 7% increase on 2019 arrivals, and is currently on 107% of 2019 arrivals. Notably, the Netherlands is also one of two international markets that have tourists who visited all nine provinces of South Africa in 2024.The other market being the USA, which was the top overseas market for arrivals in 2024.

The tourism film awards which recognise excellence and honour video content related to tourism and travel industry storytelling, were held in Sandton, Johannesburg and saw SA Tourism’s North Europe Hub receive two gold awards in the Tourism Services thematic category. The awards were for: Tourism video 2025: Tourism destination – best advertising campaign and Best Tourism video for city in Africa categories. The former was showcased through Madikwe Safari Lodge, a lodge in the Northwest and chosen to showcase safari to show safari beyond the Kruger National Park in accordance with the hub’s objectives to achieve geographic spread, while the latter was showcased through “Aah Aah Travel and Tours”, a female SMME tour operator business focusing on Soweto storytelling and tours and owned by Zandile Dlamini. The 2025 edition of the ITFFA received 448 film submissions from 60 countries, with 90 films awarded across various categories.

The award-winning "Live South Africa" campaign leveraged authentic storytelling by showcasing South African experiences and businesses through the lens of local tourism entrepreneurs. A key element of the campaign was the "South Africam”, a unique camera crafted from recycled South African materials and used to capture the country’s diverse offerings, literally allowing audiences to see South Africa through the perspective of locals. And shine the spotlight on local businesses, responsible tourism initiatives and SMMEs who share stories about South Africa through their own lens.

Since 2022, South African locals have been at the heart of all marketing and communication initiatives of SA Tourism’s North Europe Hub due to the insight that travellers, particularly Dutch travellers want to travel like a local and want to immerse themselves into South Africa’s culture.