South Africa’s new visa programme receives major expansion
Home Affairs’ new TTOS has already demonstrated significant success, prompting the visa programme to advance into phase two.
The Department of Home Affairs has launched phase two of its new Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS).
BusinessTech reports that this phase adds 45 more vetted tour operators to the visa programme.
This expansion raises the total number of approved operators to 110, up from 65 when the scheme launched earlier this year.
TTOS hits phase two
The TTOS, which officially launched in February, aims to simplify visa applications for large tour groups from India and China—two of South Africa’s fastest-growing tourism markets.
Approved tour operators can use the system to submit visa applications online and receive digital approvals within about 24 hours, a major improvement over previous processing times.
Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber said the visa programme has already attracted an additional 25,000 visitors from India and China—tourists who might have been deterred by traditional visa delays.
“TTOS demonstrates the power of our digital transformation agenda to enable economic growth and create jobs,” Schreiber said, as per BusinessTech.
“The fact that we have attracted over 25,000 tourists in just six months working with a small handful of tour operators, confirms the enormous potential of growing this digital-first approach.” he also added.