A new digital visa scheme piloted by the home affairs department has drawn more than 11,000 tourists from China and India to South Africa in three months, with officials hailing it as a breakthrough for tourism and job creation.
Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber announced that since the launch of the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) in late February, a total of 11,144 tourists have obtained digital visas to visit South Africa.
The scheme, which operates in partnership with 65 tour operators, is aimed at addressing the long-standing visa challenges faced by travellers from two of the world's most populous countries.
“It is important to note that TTOS is still just a small-scale proof of concept,” said Schreiber. “But after three months of operation it is already clear that it has been a resounding success.”
According to the minister, the initiative has seen consistent growth in visa applications, with the daily average increasing from 50 in March to 135 in April and 210 in May.
“These are tourists who otherwise would not have come to South Africa, given the challenges previously experienced with obtaining visas for tour groups from China and India,” said Schreiber.
Operation Vulindlela, which monitors progress in key structural reforms, found one job is created for every 13 tourists visiting the country. Based on this ratio, TTOS has already helped create an estimated 857 new tourism jobs since February.
Previously, tourists from China and India were required to travel long distances to apply for visas, often receiving outcomes too late to travel. Under TTOS, visa outcomes are delivered digitally within hours through a secure online platform.
Schreiber highlighted that last year's total number of tourists from China to South Africa stood at just more than 30,000, making the 11,000 brought in through TTOS in only three months “almost a third of all tourists from China who visited South Africa last year”.
“The success of TTOS demonstrates the enormous growth potential we can unlock by rolling out a digital-only visa platform — not only for group travel from these 65 partners but for every tourist in the world.
The minister confirmed plans to expand the scheme with a second intake of tour operators and rollout of a broader Electronic Travel Authorisation system later this year.
“This system will digitalise and automate tourism and short-stay visas, enabling every tourist on earth who wants to visit South Africa to instantly and securely obtain a digital visa,” said Schreiber.
“Not only will this eliminate fraud and inefficiency, but, as TTOS demonstrates beyond doubt, it will amount to the single biggest reform to boost job creation in the tourism sector in decades.”
