South Africa hits back at latest US travel advisory

The country is currently at the 'exercise increased caution' level.

Jun 6, 2025 - 16:10

South Africa hits back at latest US travel advisory

Offering everything from safaris through Kruger National Park to majestic views of Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain, South Africa is a very popular — and for those who live especially far away, dream — holiday destination.

Behind only North African nations like Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia, South Africa saw just under nine million international visitors in 2024 and is the African continent's fourth most-visited destination.

Due to high crime rates in certain cities and areas, the U.S. State Department has for decades kept South Africa at the level two "exercise increased caution" rating. But U.S.-South Africa relations were inflamed by the Trump administration's accusations of discrimination against the country's white Afrikaner population.

The conflict has spilled over into the advisories that countries typically use to inform their citizens of the safety of traveling to a given destination.

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Updated advisory focusing on violent crime, kidnappings

"Violent crime is more common in the downtown areas of big cities, especially after dark," the updated State Department advisory now reads. "Kidnapping is a threat in South Africa. Kidnappers target U.S. citizens and other foreign travelers to steal money."

A week after the updates focusing on violent crime and car attacks were published on May 27, South African Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille put out a statement refuting their tone and accusing it of being politically influenced by the May 21 White House meeting in which Trump ambushed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with widely denied allegations of widespread genocide against the country's white population.

"We respect the sovereign right of all nations to provide guidance to their citizens traveling abroad," de Lille said. "We also acknowledge the recent meeting between Presidents Ramaphosa and Trump and the subsequent media coverage that has followed."

De Lille expressed hopes that the future updates would look at the "broader context" around South Africa's history of crime and inequality in different regions and between certain populations. While travel advisories traditionally take a pessimistic tone to account for the worst-case scenario, especially alarmist statements can play a significant role in deterring tourism.

*Cape Town, South Africa is seen at night.* The South African Minister of Tourism emphasizes that the overwhelming majority of international visitors travel safely in the country.
Image source: Shutterstock

'International visitors travel safely and leave with positive, enriching experiences'

"South Africa remains one of the most sought-after and rewarding travel destinations in the world — known for its natural beauty, cultural diversity, and the warm hospitality of its people," she said further. "While challenges such as crime exist, as they do in many countries globally, the overwhelming majority of international visitors travel safely and leave with positive, enriching experiences."

According to statistics from the South African government, 111,491 tourists from the U.S. entered South Africa in the first four months of 2025.

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Immediately after Trump's White House meeting with Ramaphosa, multiple local tourism associations expressed their concerns about the impact that the meeting itself and coverage of its most inflammatory moments would have on the industry.

"Travelers don't wake up hell-bent on visiting South Africa; they can go anywhere in the world," the country's Tourism Services Association head David Frost said in a statement. "If they start hearing inflammatory things like Johannesburg being a murder capital, they rule us out."