Foreign tourists spent R74.2-billion in South Africa last year, according to Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk on Thursday.

This was 23.5 percent more than they did the year before, an increase that was "especially encouraging", he said in a statement.

Foreign tourists spent R60.1-billion in 2007.

A total of 9 591 828 foreigners visited South Africa last year, compared to 9 090 881 in 2007.

Regional and short-haul tourists remained the largest and most lucrative market.

The most popular provinces visited by foreign tourists last year were Gauteng and the Western Cape, which snared 32.3 percent and 26.9 percent of visitor nights respectively.

The third most popular province was KwaZulu-Natal, with 10.7 percent of visitor nights.