Nearly 620 000 Travellers Pass Through Beitbridge Border Post in December

Nearly 620 000 travellers passed through the Beitbridge Border Post between Zimbabwe and South Africa during the 2025/2026 festive season, reinforcing the port’s position as one of Southern Africa’s busiest land borders for regional travel and trade.

According to the latest figures released by South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA), a total of 618 562 travellers were processed at Beitbridge during the period under review. In addition, 7 745 commercial trucks were facilitated through the port, highlighting its strategic importance in cross-border commerce.

Beitbridge serves as a key gateway linking South Africa to Zimbabwe and further connects road networks to Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Mozambique, Botswana, Tanzania and Malawi.

Providing an overview of festive season operations in Pretoria, BMA Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato said the authority facilitated the legitimate movement of approximately 4 902 269 travellers across South Africa’s 71 ports of entry.

“Of this total, about 1 369 775 were South African nationals, while 3 532 494 were foreign nationals. During this period, we processed 340 876 private vehicles, 9 072 minibuses, and 10 349 buses across land ports,” said Dr Masiapato.

OR Tambo International Airport remained the busiest port of entry, handling 991 535 travellers, followed by Lebombo Land Port of Entry to Mozambique with 755 529 travellers, and Beitbridge Land Port of Entry with 618 562 travellers.

Dr Masiapato noted that Lebombo recorded a significant increase of 184 398 travellers, overtaking Beitbridge as the second busiest port. He attributed this rise to the resumption of normal cross-border movement following post-election violence disruptions during the 2024/2025 festive season.

He added that 84 percent of all travellers were processed through the top ten ports of entry, namely OR Tambo International Airport, Beitbridge, Lebombo, Kopfontein, Oshoek, Cape Town International Airport, Maseru Bridge, Ficksburg Bridge, Caledonspoort and Groblersbridge. Of the total traveller volume, 4 115 112 people passed through these ports, while the remaining 16 percent used the other 61 ports of entry.

On trade facilitation, the BMA, working with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), processed 145 113 trucks for both imports and exports. Of these, 121 217 trucks were exports and 23 896 imports. Lebombo handled 42 618 export trucks, most of which carried transit cargo destined for Maputo Harbour, while Beitbridge processed 7 745 import trucks.

In terms of border security, Dr Masiapato said BMA border guards participated in more than 531 joint law-enforcement operations, conducted 10 455 vehicle and foot patrols, and raided 8 288 hotspot areas within border law-enforcement zones.

He also reported a significant decline in illegal border crossings during the 2025/2026 festive season. The BMA intercepted 26 852 individuals attempting to enter South Africa illegally, representing a 46 percent decrease from the 58 394 cases recorded during the 2024/2025 festive period.