South Africa is taking significant steps to boost tourism and expand the country’s economy. South Africa’s Western Cape provincial manager Yusuf Simons at the Department of Home Affairs mentioned in an interview that South Africa has selected 65 tour operators from South Africa, India and China for the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) to submit group tour applications for the interested visitors.
Trusted Tour Operator Scheme
The TTOS was announced in 2024 to boost tourism in South Africa and attract tourists from India and China. China contributes 1.8% and India 3.9% of the overall international visitors arrive in South Africa.
“The TTOS was created to attract tourists from China and India. The population of India and China is one third of the world’s population, so we are trying to divert many tourists from those two countries to South Africa as a preferred destination. The selected 65 tour operators will start submitting applications from the middle of February,” said Simons.
He further mentioned that tourists from these two nations like to travel in groups. This scheme has been introduced to make their application process seamless. “The TTOS is expected to increase the tourist arrivals from the two countries, growing the South African economy and creating jobs.”
“Research has shown that for two tourists who visit South Africa, a job is created. If we increase the number of tourists from those countries, the jobs created will be extensive,” Simons said.
“The turnaround period to finalize applications will be reduced to two to three days, instead of waiting for three weeks. The online process requirements have been reduced,” he added.
The TTOS is in its pilot mode and addition of more tour operators from two populous nations can be expected in future.
Simon noted that tourists have shown interest in visiting South Africa. However, because of the language barrier, they are facing challenges while applying for a visa.
In 2024, 41,651 tourists from China visited South Africa, which is an 11.4% hike from the previous year. However, there is a 5.3% fall in Indian tourists in 2024, only 75,541 visitors had arrived from India to South Africa.
