By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Kate Bartlett
Published on 2024-01-18 17:38:56
Tourism experts in South Africa are calling for increased efforts to attract more visitors from China to boost their tourism industry. Despite a 215.7% surge in arrivals from China in the first 11 months of 2023, the number of Chinese tourists visiting South Africa still makes up a very small share of overall foreign arrivals. From January to November of last year, around 8 million tourists traveled to South Africa, with the majority coming from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany.
One major obstacle hindering the influx of Chinese tourists to South Africa is the country’s visa system. Currently, Chinese visitors have to apply for a visa in advance, which is considered by many as time-consuming and opaque. Industry experts and government officials are calling for the visa process to be streamlined by either exempting Chinese nationals from visas or introducing a visa-on-arrival system. They argue that such solutions are crucial in retaining Chinese travel to South Africa and preventing further loss to competitor countries where visa requirements may be less stringent.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasized the importance of the tourism sector and expects inbound Chinese tourism to recover to pre-COVID levels by 2026. He also expressed the government’s commitment to actively promoting South Africa as a tourism destination for Chinese tourists. Although there are currently only direct flights between Johannesburg and China’s capital Beijing or manufacturing hub Shenzhen, more direct flights are anticipated in the future.
Tourism Minister Patricia De Lille is advocating for the waiving or easing of visa requirements for Chinese short-term visitors. South African government officials have also conducted events in China to promote South Africa as a tourist destination. Additionally, efforts are being made to ease the visa process for Chinese nationals and prioritize Mandarin language training through the Chinese Culture International Exchange Centre.
However, some remain skeptical about the promises to fix the visa system and believe that economic factors, such as the slowdown in China’s economy, could also be a barrier to more Chinese visitors coming to South Africa. Despite the challenges, industry experts and government officials are committed to working towards attracting more Chinese tourists to boost South Africa’s tourism industry in the future.
Read the original article on VOA
