The government is set to ease visa regulations for tourists from India and China within the coming days to boost foreign tourism.
This move aims to simplify the current bureaucratic processes that are a hindrance for visitors from these countries.
The revised visa rules for China and India come as Russia hosts the 6th BRICS Summit in Kazan.
At present, visitors from BRICS nations require authorisation from South Africa, and South Africans traveling to these countries also need similar approvals.
However, this is set to change with the introduction of a new Trusted Tour Operators system, which will be launched by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber in January next year.
“Tourism is one of South Africa’s natural advantages, it’s one of the things we should be excelling at,” Schreiber said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
“Yet we have seen in terms of the statistics that South Africa lags behind in terms of major source markets, China and India specifically,” he said.
Under the new system, tour operators bringing visitors from India and China will be thoroughly vetted by the government and will be held responsible for managing their tour groups.
This system will serve as a temporary measure until an electronic travel authorisation system is implemented in the future.
Earlier in October, Schreiber introduced remote Work Visas, allowing individuals employed abroad to live and work in South Africa.
In addition, the government plans to roll out a Points-Based System for skilled work visas, designed to help South African companies attract foreign professionals with scarce skills.
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