• The platform will make it easier for large groups of tourists from China and India to travel to South Africa.
• The platform’s launch is the first step of a five year digitalisation plan for the department.
The Department of Home Affairs has launched one of its first steps in its overarching digitalisation goals, with the introduction of the digital Trusted Tour Operator (TTOS) platform, going live on Wednesday morning.
Launched with the hopes of increasing tourism in South Africa from traditionally large markets like India and China, the platform allows local tour operators to apply to host large tour groups from these two countries.
This would allow large groups of tourists from China and India to come to South Africa more frequently.
In 2023, the country saw 37 000 tourists from China and 79 000 from India and the department believes more will come if it the processes to do so become easier.
“This addresses a long-standing obstacle to tourism growth, whereby long queues, red tape and the inability to process group applications timeously led to inefficiency in the issuing of visas for tourists from these countries,” the department said in an announcement.
It added that previous to this launch, there were only two South African missions in China and two in India, supposedly to serve the 2.8 billion people living in the two nations and the many that wished to visit South Africa as tourists.
Prospective tourists would have had to visit these missions, stand in long queues, and fill in forms, the department explains.
Now, “tourists from India and China who use approved tour operators will no longer have to visit a mission, will no longer fill in a single form, will not need to stand in a single queue, and will receive their visas digitally within three days,” it says.
“The fact that Home Affairs took the TTOS from conceptualisation to implementation in less than six months demonstrates our commitment to embracing digital transformation and to playing our role as an economic enabler to create jobs,” said Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs.
“I want to acknowledge our in-house team of developers who built this system. I also want to thank the Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, as well as the Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, for their support in rolling out this innovative new system in record time.”
Schreiber and his team are working on a five-year plan to implement a digitalisation strategy of Home Affairs, with plans to introduce a digital ID system, an electronic travel authorisation to automate short stay visas for tourists and more
How can we help you?
Please email us to info@samigration.com
Whatsapp message us on: +27 82 373 8415
Where are you now?
Check our website : www.samigration.com
Please rate us by clinking on this links :
Sa Migration Visas
https://g.page/SAMigration?gm