China and India-focused operators have confirmed that they have reaped significant benefits from South Africa’s Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) following a Department of Home Affairs (DHA) update highlighting that over 11 000 tourists have been processed through the platform since it was established in February.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said on Tuesday (May 27) the volume of daily TTOS applications has grown consistently from an average of 50 in March to 210 in May. A total of 11 144 tourists have obtained visas through the scheme. The TTOS grants 65 approved tour operators access to a digital platform to submit and receive visa outcomes for tour groups from China and India.
Despite the claimed progress, the latest year-to-date inbound tourism figures from Statistics South Africa suggest that the impact is taking time to reflect in arrival numbers. Between January and the end of April, arrivals from China were 0.2% lower than the same period last year at 13 911. Arrivals from India were up a marginal 0.7% to 22 535.
Increasing interest from FITs
Eric Yip, GM of China-focused inbound operator SA Magic Tours, said, in addition to expediting large group travel, the implementation of the TTOS has stimulated growth in demand from the high-end FIT market.
“Since April, we’ve noticed a significant rise in enquiries from small groups and families in the FIT segment, obviously attracted to the enhanced ease of getting visas. We have at least 20 of these types of enquiries on our books with interest in exploring high-end products in regions such as the Garden Route and the Kruger National Park,” Yip told Tourism Update.
He said the slight shift away from large group tours – of between 15-20 people – is opening up the potential to explore a wider range of activities.
“In South Africa, many of the activities aren’t particularly well-suited for large tour groups. The smaller groups are giving us the opportunity to book additional experiences such as boutique safaris and shark cage-diving. And the high-end nature of the clientele is a benefit for our business and the broader tourism sector,” said Yip.
‘Vast improvement’
Johan Groenewald, MD of Royal African Discoveries, which has spent more than 25 years working with the Indian market, highlighted a “vast improvement” in visa processing through the TTOS.
“It is efficient and fast and the DHA is keeping to its commitment to process within a maximum five working days,” said Groenewald, adding that this has helped to instil confidence in the visa process among the Indian travel trade.
“Many people in the Indian travel trade stopped selling South Africa last year due to the issues around visas and lack of exposure of the destination in the market. This is changing and will help in increasing the attractiveness of the destination in the Indian market.”
Yip and Groenewald said the enhanced visa process now needs to be supported with more direct flights from both of the Asian powerhouses.
“The infrequency of weekly flights from China means that many tourists may have to shorten their itineraries in order to fit with flight schedules. We certainly need more capacity to capitalise on the demand,” said Yip.
Speaking on the Indian market, Groenewald said: “Previously, we could ‘make it work’ without a direct flight but, in the past 18 months, more and more destinations are available to Indian travellers with direct flights. Many of our key competitor destinations now have direct flights to/from India.”
South Africa is reportedly in the advanced stages of discussions to launch direct flights between Mumbai or Delhi and Johannesburg or Cape Town while South African Airways is considering launching flights via Southeast Asia to Guangzhou in the future.
ETA next on the agenda
Schreiber claimed the DHA is on track to deliver a “world-class” electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system this year.
“This system will completely digitalise and automate all tourism and short-stay visas, enabling every tourist who wants to visit South Africa to instantly and securely obtain a digital visa. Not only will this eliminate fraud and inefficiency but, as the TTOS demonstrates beyond all doubt, it will amount to the single biggest reform to boost job creation in the tourism sector in decades.”
Mncedisi Mtshali, Chief of Staff in the Office of the Minister of Tourism, said his department is ready to support the DHA with the ETA’s implementation.
“The Department of Tourism looks forward to working with Home Affairs and industry stakeholders to expand these reforms, grow our tourism economy, and ensure that South Africa remains a destination of choice in an increasingly competitive environment,” Mtshali said in a statement.
