Ezulwini – The 2025 MTN Bushfire Festival drew a surge of 18,372 visitor arrivals to Eswatini over the last weekend of May, according to a new statistical release from the Eswatini Tourism Authority’s Research Department.
Held annually in the scenic Malkerns Valley, this year’s edition attracted a diverse crowd with South Africans making up the majority of attendees at 62.2%. Visitors from Mozambique (18.7%), Zimbabwe (5.1%), Malawi (1.8%), and Lesotho (1.5%) followed closely behind, while a small but notable international presence came from the United States (1.4%), France (1.3%), the United Kingdom (0.6%), India (0.6%) and the Netherlands (0.5%).
Accommodation venues across the country reported high occupancy rates, with guesthouses reaching 94.4% capacity and hotels close behind at 90.2%. Game reserves stood at 84.6% occupancy, while bed and breakfast establishments recorded a 77.3% rate. 
Ezulwini emerged as the most in-demand subregion with a 95.4% accommodation occupancy rate, followed by Mbabane at 88.2% and Manzini at 83.6%.
