South Africa’s Ministry of Home Affairs announced a new Trusted Tour Operator Scheme, which will open in January 2025.

Key Points:

• The government will launch the new scheme for vetted and approved foreign nationals from mainland China and India. It will include pre-registration capabilities with expedited visa processing and dedicated visa adjudicators.
• The department will process group tourist applications from mainland China and India who are travelling with approved operators.
• Vetted tour operators from these countries will need to undergo thorough upfront screening and assume responsibility for all travelers in the group.

Background: Officials provided travel data to support the new initiative, including that Chinese tourists made over 100 million outbound trips in 2023 and that Indian tourists account for 3.9% and China tourists 1.8% of all international visitors to South Africa.

BAL Analysis: South African immigration authorities are hoping to reform the visa system to allow the Department of Home Affairs to serve as an economic enabler, supercharging job creation in the tourism sector. The program may be extended to other nationalities in the future. BAL will continue to monitor developments and will provide more information as it becomes available.