The Department of Home Affairs began implementation of phase one of the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) at 08h00 today (Wednesday, February 12) in a move that it believes will significantly improve the visa process for travellers and tour operators from India and China.

It addresses a long-standing obstacle to tourism growth whereby long queues, red tape and the inability to process group applications timeously led to inefficiency in the issuing of visas for tourists from these countries.

To illustrate the scale of the change: before TTOS was created, there were only two South African missions in China, and only two in India, serving the 2.8 billion people living in those countries who wanted to visit South Africa.

However, under the new TTOS digital-first system, tourists from India and China who use approved tour operators will no longer have to visit a mission, fill in a form or stand in a queue and will receive their visas digitally within three days.

Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber said: “The fact that Home Affairs took the TTOS from conceptualisation to implementation in less than six months demonstrates our commitment to embracing digital transformation and to playing our role as an economic enabler to create jobs.”

He highlighted research showing that, for every 12 new tourists attracted by the TTOS, one new job is created in South Africa.

‘Massive source markets’

Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille said: “These are two massive key source markets for South Africa that can contribute to our goal to increase arrivals exponentially. A seamless visa regime is key to growing arrivals and we have been working well with Home Affairs in this regard and will continue to work with them to make further improvements.”

The TTOS was conceptualised by Schreiber in response to the fact that South Africa substantially underperforms in attracting tourism spend from China and India.

At the moment, Indian tourists account for only 3.9% of all international visitors to South Africa – and Chinese tourists only 1.8%. Chinese travellers made over 100 million outbound trips in 2023 with South Africa receiving only 93 000 of these arrivals. In comparison, a country like Australia attracted over 1.4 million visitors from China in 2023.

Schreiber said: “Our foremost goal remains the total digital transformation of all Home Affairs processes including application, adjudication and communication of visa outcomes, which will altogether eliminate visa delays as an obstacle to tourism. In the interim, until we reach that goal, we will use the TTOS as a key programme to catalyse further growth and job creation in the South African tourism sector.”

De Lille said the Department of Tourism will use visa enablers – electronic travel authorisation, the TTOS and the digital nomad visa – to grow tourism in South Africa.

Increased arrivals

According to De Lille, these visa regime enhancements will lead to increased arrivals in South Africa, which will in turn help the Government of National Unity achieve its goals to drive inclusive economic growth and create jobs.

“As the tourism sector, we appreciate the efforts and commitment of the Minister of Home Affairs and his department with impressive gains on the visa regime front.”

The tourism sector is a vital engine for economic growth as it has experienced a steady rebound over the past two years with close to nine million arrivals in South Africa in 2024 – up by 5.1% compared to 2023.

De Lille noted: “We are truly excited about these visa regime improvements and we cannot wait to reap the rewards of this progress in the coming months with increased arrivals from China and India especially.”

Improved direct air access

Last week, De Lille welcomed the fact that Cabinet had approved her department’s national Air Access tourism marketing strategy.

During a visit to India in December last year, the Minister advocated for a direct flight between South Africa and India, stating: “India is the fifth largest global economy and has a growing middle class. Indian tourists are among the top spenders globally and are set to become the fourth largest global travel spenders by 2030.

“We want to attract more arrivals from India by making it easier for travellers to travel to South Africa through an improved visa regime and air route development.

“Indian travellers’ spending on outbound tourism is expected to grow from US$18.8 billion in 2024 to US$55.3 billion in 2034. We have to ensure that South Africa benefits from that growth and, in return, the Indian traveller will have the most beautiful and memorable holiday experience having experienced our warm, welcoming people, excellent cuisine, breathtaking natural landscapes and so much more.”

TTOS welcomed but more is needed

While the private sector – through its associations – has largely welcomed the visa reform progress made by the Department of Home Affairs, as well as De Lille’s championing of the need for improved airlift, concerns remain.

David Frost, Chief Executive Officer of SATSA, told Tourism Update, in earlier interviews, that the TTOS is a positive move attracting arrivals from the high-growth markets of China and India.

But no accredited operator has received clear guidelines on how to implement it.

He has also previously asserted that a visa waiver for key source markets would be the “first prize”.