JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- South Africa is introducing a new Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS), with effect from January 2025, to facilitate tourists from China and India, said the Department of Home Affairs Monday.
Red tape will be removed and visa processing efficiency will be improved for tourists from non-visa exempt countries like China and India, the department said in a statement.
"With an initial focus on the burgeoning tourist markets of China and India, the TTOS will remove some of the key obstacles standing in the way of South Africa becoming a favored tourism destination for the second and fifth-largest economies in the world," read the statement.
The statement said Chinese tourists made over 100 million outbound trips in 2023, but South Africa only received 93,000 of those arrivals.
"In comparison, a country like Australia attracted over 1.4 million visitors from China in 2023," it said. "At the moment, Indian tourists account for only 3.9 percent of all international visitors to South Africa -- and China for only 1.8 percent."
To change this, the home affairs department said, through the TTOS, vetted and approved tour operators from these two major source markets will be invited to register with the department.
"In exchange for undergoing thorough screening upfront and assuming responsibility for travelers in their groups, the department will for the very first time process group applications from Chinese and Indian tourists travelling with approved operators," it said. "Tourist visa applications processed through TTOS will be handled by a dedicated and skilled team of adjudicators to ensure swift and reliable processing, and will also benefit from the removal of restrictive red tape that currently suffocates South Africa's tourism potential."
In the statement, South African Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber noted that the announcement is made while President Cyril Ramaphosa is in China for a state visit, to show that the government is serious about unlocking the country's tourism potential.
Research has shown that boosting tourism by 10 percent per year can boost annual economic growth by 0.6 percent and create many new jobs for South Africans, said Schreiber.
"Travelling in large groups is the preferred option for many tourists from some countries, and it is time for our visa system to adapt in order to reflect and capitalize on this reality," he said. "This is only the start of home affairs' embrace of our role as an economic enabler."
"Exciting as it is, TTOS is itself but an interim measure to boost tourism while we move with speed to digitally transform home affairs," the minister added.
According to the statement, the regulations for the TTOS will be published shortly, as well as information on how tour operators can apply with the department ahead of the scheme's rollout next January. ■