 "South Africa launches faster, simpler visa process for Indian travellers")
Has South Africa's lengthy and somewhat tiresome visa process kept you from visiting the 'land of safaris'? There's good news! On January 13, 2025, South Africa officially launched the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) for Indian and Chinese travellers, promising smoother, faster, and more transparent visa processing.
Indian tourists currently account for just 3.9% of all international arrivals in South Africa. The South African Department of Home Affairs explained that even a 10% increase in tourism could boost economic growth by 0.6% and create thousands of jobs.
Earlier this month, the country announced the completion of the selection process for the first group of tour operators to participate in the TTOS.
“Through a joint process involving the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Tourism, and the State Security Agency, 65 tour operators from South Africa, China, and India were chosen out of 141 applicants for enrolment in the programme, following a detailed inter-departmental vetting and screening process,” said the Department of Home Affairs in a press release.
How it works
Applications for TTOS were submitted via a dedicated online portal. The screening process also utilised Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ensure applicants met specific criteria, including at least 12 months of operational experience, a record of legal compliance, and evidence of cross-country collaboration.
Selected tour operators
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The 65 companies selected for the programme include:
Thomas Cook India
China International Travel Service
MakeMyTrip India
Shanghai Ctrip International Travel Service
Springbok Atlas Tours and Safaris
SOTC Travel
Kesari Tours
Beijing Caissa Sunho International Travel Service
TTOS was conceptualised by Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber, to address South Africa's relatively low tourism spending from China and India. Indian tourists currently represent just 3.9% of international visitors to South Africa, while Chinese tourists account for a mere 1.8%.
In 2023, Chinese travellers made over 100 million outbound trips, with only 93,000 choosing South Africa. By contrast, Australia welcomed more than 1.4 million visitors from China in the same year.
“We now look forward to welcoming the first large groups of Chinese and Indian tourists to our shores, who would previously have been deterred only by visa red tape from spending their valuable foreign currency in South Africa,” the press release added.