South African Tourism sees India as top APAC mkt for international arrivals

The South African Tourism board expects international tourist arrivals from India to overtake those from Australia in the coming years.

 

This comes after 75,541 Indian tourists visited South Africa last year, with 63 per cent from Mumbai. Before Covid, in 2019, South Africa received 99,000 international tourists from India. Gcobani Mancotywa, regional general manager, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East at South African Tourism, told Business Standard that the country has recovered over 80 per cent of international tourists from India in 2024.

 

“We are projecting that India will actually overcome or outperform our key market (in terms of international tourist arrivals), Australia, with the visa issues now being resolved,” said Mancotywa.

   

Globally, India is among the top 10 inbound markets for South Africa. Currently, in the APAC region, India is in the second position after Australia, with China being the third key market. Additionally, Mancotywa said there are discussions on establishing direct flight routes between the two nations, further boosting visitor numbers from India.

 

The country’s tourism board has also made efforts to streamline travel to South Africa with the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system and the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) to ease visa processing for Indian tourists. TTOS was launched by South African Tourism in February this year in India and China.

 

Under TTOS, the visa process is reduced to three days compared to five to 10 days for Indian travellers. Mancotywa also added that fewer documents will now be required for the visa process.

 

“While family travel remains a steady segment, we are now witnessing a significant rise in travellers above the age of 40 exploring South Africa. At the same time, the younger demographic presents a promising opportunity, and tapping into this segment will be a key focus for us moving forward,” said Mancotywa in a statement.

 

He added that apart from Mumbai, Delhi contributes a major base for inbound tourism from India, and next year, the tourism board is planning to expand this base to two Tier-II cities in the country. As per the board’s data, 42.3 per cent of travellers from Mumbai combined work trips with leisure activities.

 

“From India, we expect to increase visits in the business travel segment as we are a part of Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). There is also a G20 (summit) opportunity for us as we are hosting it this year,” he noted.

 

Tourism contributes 7 to 8 per cent of South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP). Mancotywa added that overall, they have set a target of 14.9 million international arrivals by 2030 due to the importance of tourism’s contribution to GDP and its role in job creation.