The second phase of an online system enabling tour operators to streamline the entry of travellers to South Africa, particularly from populous countries such as China and India, has launched, with the potential to create thousands more jobs.
Although neither China nor India are currently among South Africa’s top 10 overseas tourism markets, attracting more visitors from China is seen as a national priority. While Chinese arrivals declined 14.3% over the past year as of June, Statistics South Africa data shows the drop-off has slowed in the past quarter, suggesting a recovering trend.
The Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS), implemented under the Government of National Unity in February, waives the requirement for visa applications to be made in person in India and China, allowing these to be processed via approved tour operators.
Since its launch, an additional 25 024 tourists from the two countries have visited South Africa who might otherwise have been deterred by visa delays.
Home affairs minister Dr Leon Schreiber said at the launch of phase two that a further 45 vetted and approved tour operators have been added to the existing 65 participating in the programme.
The Department of Home Affairs says the system “replaced manual, inefficient and paper-based processes that required prospective tourists to travel long distances just to apply for a visa, which then often took weeks to process and required a return trip for collection, with a new online system whereby tour operators upload applications online and get digital outcomes, on average, within 24 hours”.
Schreiber adds that TTOS “demonstrates the power of our digital transformation agenda to enable economic growth and create jobs. The fact that we have attracted over 25 000 tourists in just six months working with a small handful of tour operators confirms the enormous potential of growing this digital-first approach.”
Based on research from Operation Vulindlela, one new formal sector job is created for every 13 tourists visiting the country, suggesting TTOS created 1 924 new jobs during its first phase.
The tourism sector accounts for around 1.7 million jobs, or 6.8% of the workforce, statistics show.
Statistics SA’s latest international tourism figures show that 2.7 million travellers went through SA’s ports of entry in June. The top source markets in the past year were the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Investec economist Lara Hodes has noted that attracting more travellers from China is a “national priority”.
Sun City general manager Brett Hoppe said earlier this year that making it easier for tour operators to market SA as a holiday destination to Chinese and Indian travellers can only benefit the sector. Speaking during an event to celebrate Chinese New Year, he noted that any increase in tourism has a positive impact on direct and indirect employment.
South African Tourism’s annual performance plan for 2025/26 states that “tourism is a key contributor to SA’s economic growth, with the potential to significantly reduce poverty and tackle inequality”. Tourism minister Patricia de Lille said the five-year plan “prioritises creating jobs and the development of industry-required skills”.
Hodes says the upcoming Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, set to launch at the end of September, “will boost tourism and investment, making South Africa more competitive, alleviating burdensome red tape when applying for a visa”. The ETA will replace the current e-Visa system for short-term tourist stays of up to 90 days and will use artificial intelligence for risk management.
Hoppe says the change in the visa regime came about because players in the tourism sector put aside their own interests to collaborate for the greater good of the economy.
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