The Department of Home Affairs has picked its first round of tour operator companies for the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme.
• The scheme aims to boost tourism from China and India by fast tracking visa applications for clients of the companies.
• 65 tour operator companies have signed agreements with the department.
Home Affairs has picked the first round of tour companies to participate in a new scheme to boost tourism from India and China by fast-tracking their customers' visa applications.
Tourists using the scheme are expected "within a matter of weeks".
In a statement issued on Monday, The Department of Home Affairs announced that it had enrolled 65 tour companies in the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS). The appointments were made through a joint process conducted by the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Tourism, and the State Security Agency.
The TTOS is aimed at boosting tourist arrivals from India and China by fast-tracking the visa application process for customers of certain accredited tour operator companies. The department first announced the scheme in September 2024.
Home Affairs required the participating companies to sign agreements holding them liable for any "misrepresentation or transgressions committed by their customers" in exchange for reducing red tape, overcoming language barriers, and speeding up turnaround times for their clients' visitor visas.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber developed the scheme to address South Africa's underperformance in attracting tourism spending from China and India.
The release said that Indian tourists accounted for 3.9% of all international visitors to South Africa in 2023 and Chinese tourists for only 1.8%. South Africa only received 93 000 Chinese tourists in 2023, out of over 100 million outbound trips in 2023.
The scheme's first cohort of participating companies include Thomas Cook India, MakeMyTrip India, China International Travel Service, and Shanghai Ctrip International Travel Service. Springbok Atlas Tours and Safaris was the only South African tour operator listed among the eight companies in the Home Affairs release.
"I look forward to welcoming the first arrivals under TTOS within a matter of weeks as a tangible demonstration of how the seventh administration is working together to deliver real reform and economic growth to create jobs," said Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber in the statement.
The department also said that the final phase of the preparatory work for the TTOS is to ensure that the tour operators can submit visa applications through a "secure and reliable platform".
The City of Cape Town's mayoral committee member for economic growth James Vos also said in a post earlier this year that he expects the launch of the TTOS to boost tourist arrivals. Vos said that he will be conducting trade missions to China and India this year in an effort to open doors to both visitors and investors to Cape Town.