Another visa boost for South Africa
The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, has announced the launch of phase two of the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS), with the department introducing a series of changes to the visa system.
The department created the TTOS to address the long-standing challenges tour operators face in bringing large tour groups from the growing markets in India and China.
It was designed to replace manual, inefficient, paper-based processes requiring prospective tourists to travel long distances to apply for a visa.
The visas would also take weeks to process and require a return trip for collection.
The new online system allows tour operators to upload applications online and get digital outcomes, within 24 hours on average.
The selected tour operators agree with the department to assume responsibility for the tourists they bring to the country.
Schreiber has announced that phase two of the scheme adds another 45 vetted and approved tour operators to the existing 65 operators that have used the programme since February.
The TTOS has already seen an additional 25,000 tourists from India and China in South Africa, which the visa delays would have deterred.
Data from Operation Vulindlela, a joint initiative from the Presidency and National Treasury to grow the economy, shows that one formal sector job is created by every 13 tourists that visit the country.
With this in mind, it is believed that the TTOS has already created over 1,900 new jobs in the first phase alone.
The increase to 110 tour operators is expected to help boost growth in the economy during a time of extreme economic headwinds.
“TTOS demonstrates the power of our digital transformation agenda to enable economic growth and create jobs,” said Schreiber.
“The fact that we have attracted over 25,000 tourists in just six months working with a small handful of tour operators, confirms the enormous potential of growing this digital-first approach.”
New visas coming
The TTOS is one of the several visa initiatives the Department of Home Affairs is trying to introduce.
The department will also launch the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in September.
The ETA will fully automate and digitise the visa process from beginning to end, allowing outcomes to be decided within seconds. Machine learning technology will be used to eliminate fraud.
On top of this, the department is also launching new dedicated visa schemes for events and creative industries.
STAGES, short for Screen Talent and Global Entertainment Scheme, is aimed at simplifying visa access for film production companies.
This comes after South Africa lost a massive Netflix production, which cost the country R400 million in lost income.
Moreover, MEETS will ensure that visa applications for international attendees at significant conferences, sporting events, exhibitions, and other global events will be processed online.
South Africa is the current President of the G20, and will host world leaders from China, the EU, the UK and potentially the USA.
“Each reform we implement must be viewed as an individual piece of the bigger digital transformation puzzle we are building,” said Schreiber.
“All of our work is guided by our vision to deliver Home Affairs @ home, by building digital channels that enable both South Africans and legitimate travellers to obtain services online, from the comfort of their own homes.”
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