The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has announced the creation of an innovative new Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) to boost tourism in South Africa. The scheme, set to be implemented from January 2025, aims to remove key obstacles standing in the way of South Africa becoming a preferred tourism destination for the second and fifth largest economies in the world. Chinese tourists made over 100 million outbound trips in 2023, with South Africa receiving 93,000 of these arrivals. In comparison, Australia attracted over 1.4 million visitors from China in 2023.
Currently, Indian tourists account for only 3.9% of all international visitors to South Africa, and China for only 1.8%. In collaboration with the Department of Tourism, the DHA has resolved to play its role in "rectifying the unacceptable economic under-performance by urgently clearing obstacles to tourism from these two major source-markets."
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has directed that the same principle be applied to cutting red tape and improving efficiency for tourists from non-visa exempt countries like China and India. Through TTOS, vetted and approved tour operators from these countries will be invited to register with the department. In exchange for undergoing thorough screening upfront and assuming responsibility for travelers in their groups, the department will process group applications from Chinese and Indian tourists travelling with approved operators.
Tourist visa applications processed through TTOS will be handled by a dedicated and skilled team of adjudicators to ensure swift and reliable processing. This is only the start of Home Affairs' embrace of its role as an economic enabler, with the ultimate vision being for a fully automated process that delivers secure tourist visa outcomes digitally and within seconds to tourists from around the world.
