The Department of Home Affairs says it plans to end the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) and absorb it into the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system.
According to News24, Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber said the scheme will no longer be necessary as digital visa processing advances.
Home Affairs plans to expand the ETA system across visa categories to eliminate paperwork entirely. When it is fully implemented, the department maintains the TTOS will no longer be required.
However, inbound operators have raised concerns about the implications for group travel and criticised lack of consultation.
Speaking to Tourism Update, David Frost, SATSA CEO, said there has been no meaningful engagement with the organised tourism sector on visa system changes with industry input largely limited to a webinar ahead of TTOS where stakeholders were not properly acknowledged.
Lack of structured consultation is particularly concerning, given long-term underperformance in key markets such as India and China, he added. Industry data presented to government shows that South Africa is still receiving fewer visitors from these markets than in 2013 when arrivals were approximately 151 000 from China and 112 000 from India. In 2025, arrivals were 38 000 and 66 000 from China and India respectively.
Frost said this context underscores the need for policies aligned with trade realities and developed in consultation with industry stakeholders.
He called for structured engagement with the industry to assess what is working and what isn’t. “The right and proper thing is for them to have structured engagement with organised tourism to get our feedback.”
Frost also pointed to operational limitations in the ETA system, including the inability to amend applications once submitted, the absence of a support channel to resolve issues and lack of functionality for processing children’s visas despite family travel being significant for South Africa.
He said these gaps highlight the need for more detailed engagement with the industry to ensure the system is fit for purpose before fully replacing existing mechanisms such as the TTOS.
“There’s just a culpable lack of proper consultation. It’s always us chasing them. They should be proactive. They know who we are,” added Frost.
The Department of Home Affairs had not responded to Tourism Update’s requests for comment by the time of publishing.
Indian and Chinese markets
Speaking to Tourism Update, Indian market specialist Johan Groenewald, Royal African Discoveries MD, said the TTOS was specifically designed for the group market and enabled tour operators to manage visa processes centrally.
“The ETA system was designed to service the FIT market and primarily for independent travellers who don’t book through the travel trade.”
Removing the TTOS will shift responsibility to individual travellers, which could create challenges, particularly for older clients and group bookings where documentation is managed collectively, Groenewald added.
“With the TTOS, the tour operator is in control of the visa process and can manage it with certainty that all passengers in the group have the required documentation and an approved visa. With the ETA, this will be removed from the tour operator and create havoc.”
Groenewald warned that timing is critical.
“I’m not sure when the Department of Home Affairs plans to end the TTOS but, if they do it before the peak season, starting in April and ending late June, it will be a disaster that will again cause total loss of trust by the Indian trade in the visa system and the South African government.”
The TTOS has been “critical” in sustaining group series bookings from India despite an overall decline in arrivals, added Groenewald. “The TTOS system has assisted these operators to promote South Africa as there was confidence in the system and it was quick and efficient compared to the standard process.”
From a Chinese market perspective, Eric Yip, SA Magic Tours GM, said the TTOS helped build confidence in the Chinese market although recovery has been slow post-COVID.
“The main issue now is uncertainty. Tour operators rely on clear and stable visa processes. Any transition may slow bookings,” he said.
Echoing Groenewald’s sentiments, Yip said the ETA may benefit independent travellers but it presents challenges for groups. “It is less practical for group travel as each traveller must apply online and some applicants may find the process difficult.”
The shift could impact group volumes in the short term, he added. “Chinese partners have raised concerns about possible delays and how the new system will operate but most are waiting for more clarity before making decisions.”
