JOHANNESBURG – South Africa will increase the number of tour operators under the Tour Operator Scheme (TTO) to process large amounts of visas for tourists in China and India, Tourism Minister Patricia Delhir said on Tuesday.
Delire made his remarks at Meeting Africa, a pan-African business and trade show that began Monday in Johannesburg, South Africa.
South Africa introduced a TTO last year to streamline the visa application process and boost tourism from India and China. The first batch of 65 selected tour operators from South Africa, India and China began processing visa applications through the scheme on February 12th.
“We are excited about the TTO and we need to recruit more tour operators in the next phase. By December we will be able to see 150-200 tour operators and bring in more tourists from India and China,” Delhir said.
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South Africa is also negotiating with various passenger aircraft to improve India-China ties, Delhir said. The minister noted that South Africa has seen a significant surge in tourist arrivals from both countries after previously relaxing visa requirements for citizens of Kenya and Ghana.
As visa inefficiencies discourage potential tourists from visiting South Africa, Home Minister Leon Schreiber said the country plans to expand TTO compensation to include more countries in the future.
Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, chief executive of the South African Tourism Business Council, representing organized businesses in the travel and tourism industry, said the private sector is seeking to ease visa restrictions to attract more tourists to the country. “Under TTO, tour operators will do business more professionally and guide more visitors,” he added.
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Last weekend, South Africa won the first group of 15 Chinese tourists under the TTO. China and India are two important source markets for the arrival of tourists in South Africa as in 2024 the country showed that in 41,651 tourists from China and 75,5411 people received 75,541 people from India.
