The City of Cape Town has written to newly appointed Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, to highlight the need for implementation of a remote working visa and the opening up of South Africa’s air transport market.

James Vos, the city’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, wrote to the Minister following her March 6 appointment.

In his communication, Vos said he had highlighted the efforts by the City of Cape Town to encourage the enactment of a remote working visa, which had previously been brought to the attention of former Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu. 

“Cape Town is already a highly favoured location for digital nomads. Other countries have had great success with this type of visa and it would give South Africa greater appeal to a far broader category of tourists,” said Vos.

The City of Cape Town has repeatedly argued that the visa could be easily implemented without requiring wholesale changes to the country’s Immigration Act. In 2021, the Western Cape Government submitted a proposal to national government, highlighting that Section 11 of the Act could simply be amended to allow for the extension of visas beyond 90 days for specific activities, including remote work.

Recommendations for the visa reforms (a priority laid out in national government’s Operation Vulindlela set of structural reforms) had been finalised and submitted to the Department of Home Affairs in November last year.

“I implore national government to act with haste in rolling out an improved visa system, including that of the remote worker visa. We can't afford to wait any longer. Those working in the tourism industry will tell you that everything is about timing and certainty. And for businesses, time is money,” Vos said.

Implement open skies

Vos also requested the Minister to put further pressure on the National Department of Transport to further open up the country’s air transport market.

“I pointed out that, where implemented (an open skies policy) has resulted in increased utilisation of airspace, more competitive fares and more choices for travellers. This will need national government to liberalise measures.”

Vos highlighted tourism’s potential to create jobs, citing a World Travel and Tourism Council report that forecast the sector to grow at an average rate of 7.6% annually over the next decade, with the potential to create 800 000 jobs.

“It is through tourism that we can kick our economy into high gear. We must take these steps to realise these gains for our people.”

Cape Town’s Ten Point Tourism Strategy, devised in 2021, also includes a focus on domestic tourism campaigns, leveraging city-to-city agreements, tourist safety, the development of new tourism products and the promotion of the city as a responsible tourist destination, amongst others.