South African tourism officials and industry associations have renewed their calls for government to introduce remote work visas, more than six months after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he was considering the policy.
The trend towards remote work, fuelled by COVID-19, has given rise to a new, potentially lucrative tourism market that has prompted many countries to introduce special visas to lure ‘digital nomads’.
The Western Cape Department of Finance and Economic Opportunities has resubmitted recommendations first made to South Africa's Department of Home Affairs last year, on how the visa could be quickly implemented.
“It is still not clear what the status of the project is and when it will be implemented. At the same time, competitor destinations are moving with speed to accommodate this new travel trend, which creates a real risk that South Africa will be left behind,” said Western Cape Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger.
The Western Cape’s proposal argues that a short-term remote visa could be approved for an initial one-year period, with an option to renew for an additional two years, without having to make any changes to existing legislation.
In a survey conducted by the provincial government earlier this year, 68% of respondents (mainly from tourism industry associations, the film industry and immigration and visa facilitation agencies), stated that it was critical for South Africa to introduce the visa.
“As we now approach our summer peak season, we hope for speed in finally introducing what is a clear opportunity for South Africa,” Wenger said.
‘Low-hanging fruit’ for tourism recovery
Industry associations have highlighted how the remote work visa could be easily implemented by following the best practices of other countries.
“Low-hanging fruit for the South African government which wants to foster tourism growth would be to follow the lead of other countries. It will then be up to the private sector market to provide a welcoming remote work environment through high-speed Internet access and contingencies for loadshedding (power outages),” said SATSA CEO, David Frost.
Frost pointed out that South Africa was missing out on an opportunity to capitalise on a lucrative market segment.
“This presents an opportunity for destinations to tap into a growing market segment and one that is increasingly lucrative – longer stays, a job supported by another economy, high levels of disposable income and undeniable wanderlust. So they will engage with our tourism activities and experiences.”
Increased investment and jobs
National FEDHASA Chair Rosemary Anderson said: “There are only positives in providing digital nomad visas. Not only will it help with the economic recovery of tourism businesses and the supply chain that feeds these, but it will also help to create jobs.”
She pointed out that countries with such visa policies were more attractive to hospitality investors.
“Countries already capitalising on this new market segment are seeing increased investment by hotel groups, which are either expanding their hotel facilities or building additional hotels. This is exactly what we need for South Africa and the longer we wait, the longer someone who could have had a job created if we truly embraced this new type of travel, will remain unemployed.”
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