Massive visa changes to draw more Chinese and Indian tourists to South Africa
The Department of Home Affairs has announced a new preferred visa system that will be implemented in January 2025, which it hopes will draw Chinese and Indian tourists to our shores.
China and India do not have visa-free access to South Africa, which means the country loses out on potentially millions of tourists each year due to the red-tape involved with travelling here.
The DHA notes that Chinese tourists made over 100 million outbound trips in 2023—but South Africa received only a minuscule 93,000 of these arrivals.
“By 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% of all international visitors to South Africa—and China for only 1.8%.
To change this, Home Affairs says it will launch the (Trusted Tour Operator Scheme) to cut down some of the red tape to make South Africa a more appealing tourist destination for these .
Under the TTOS, approved tour operators from these countries will be able to register with the department and, in turn, offer fast-tracked visas to their clients.
In exchange for undergoing thorough screening upfront and assuming responsibility for travellers in their groups, the department will process group applications from Chinese and Indian tourists travelling with approved operators.
“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,” the department said.
The TTOS was developed in collaboration with the Department of Tourism and the Presidency and Operation Vulindlela.
The department said that, like the positive impact made by the Trusted Employer Scheme (TES)—which provides swift and simplified visa processing services to vetted and approved businesses to attract critical skills—the TTOS should be able to apply the same principle to cutting red tape and improving efficiency for tourists from non-visa exempt countries.
“Research indicates that boosting tourism by only 10% per year can boost annual economic growth by 0.6% and create tens of thousands of new jobs for South Africans. 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 capitalise on this reality,” said Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber.
“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 transform Home Affairs digitally.
“Ultimately, our vision is for a fully automated process that delivers secure tourist visa outcomes digitally and within seconds to tourists from around the world.”
The regulations for the TTOS will be published shortly, the minister said, as well as information on how tour operators can apply with the Department of Home Affairs ahead of the scheme’s rollout in January 2025.
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