In a ground-breaking move to enhance the job creation that flows from increased tourism, the Department of Home Affairs has announced the gazetting of the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS), just two months after work began on this scheme.
The scheme was conceptualised by the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, following consultations with the tourism sector and the Minister of Tourism about the way in which visa inefficiency and red tape throttles South Africa’s ability to attract more tourists from these two burgeoning source markets.
The department said research indicates that boosting tourism by only 10% per year can increase annual economic growth by 0.6% and create thousands of new jobs for South Africans.
“To resolve bottlenecks and reposition Home Affairs as an economic enabler, the department has [on Monday] gazetted a call for expression of interest by established tour operators from South Africa and abroad, who wish to sign up to the scheme to bring more tourists from China and India to our country.
“Chinese tourists made over 100 million outbound trips in 2023, with South Africa receiving only 93 000 of these arrivals. In comparison, a country like Australia attracted over 1.4 million visitors from China in 2023.
“At the moment, Indian tourists account for only 3.9% of all international visitors to South Africa, and China for only 1.8%,” said the department.
The TTOS is designed to overcome concrete problems, including challenges with processing group visa applications from these countries, capacity constraints at foreign missions, and language barriers.
“Approved tour operators will benefit from reduced red tape and enhanced turnaround times on visa applications they submit for large tour groups.
“All TTOS applications will be handled by a dedicated team of adjudicators to ensure swift and reliable processing. In turn, operators will be held liable for any legal transgressions committed by tourists travelling under their banner,” said the department.
The qualifications criteria for the scheme were drawn up through public consultation with the tourism sector and other key stakeholders.
All applications to TTOS will be fairly and transparently adjudicated according to a points-based system that allocates points on the basis of a company’s legal compliance, operating experience, proof of operational capacity, and cross-country collaboration.
A minimum of 12 months’ operational experience will be a prerequisite for an applicant to be considered.
The call for expression of interest will be open for a period of 30 days, whereafter Home Affairs will, in collaboration with other departments, assess and security vet applications, with the aim of enrolling the first group of tour operators.
South Africa’s target remains to welcome the first tourists, brought to South Africa through TTOS, in January 2025. Home Affairs will consider further intakes for the scheme in the future, depending on internal capacity and the success of the rollout.
To build awareness around this scheme, the department has launched a distinctive TTOS logo that communicates its commitment to growing tourism to South Africa in a secure and efficient manner.
As a contribution towards the apex priority of digital transformation, Home Affairs has digitised the application process for TTOS.
Instead of e-mail applications that result in drawn-out manual and paper-based decision-making processes, a user-friendly online portal will enhance transparency and improve turnaround times.
Companies that wish to express an interest in the scheme simply need to visit https://touroperator.dha.gov.za:8443 or access the portal via the TTOS banner on www.dha.gov.za.
“I salute the officials who have been working overtime to bring this pathbreaking scheme to life. The speed at which Home Affairs has moved from conceptualisation to execution on TTOS demonstrates our deeply-held commitment to supporting our colleagues in the Department of Tourism and in the tourism sector, in order to create thousands of new jobs for the people of South Africa,” said Schreiber.
He thanked the Minister in the Presidency and the Minister of Tourism for their support and collaboration on this work.
“Our country should be one of the premier tourism destinations on earth, and we at #TeamHomeAffairs are playing our part to turn this vision into reality.
“The introduction of TTOS is part of the significant interim reforms we are putting in place to enhance the efficiency of Home Affairs while we work towards our five-year vision of delivering Home Affairs @ home through digital transformation.
“I am confident that this scheme will make an immediate contribution towards growing tourism and job creation, and I look forward to welcoming the first tour groups facilitated through TTOS as early as January 2025,” Schreiber said.
The gazette can be accessed at https://www.dha.gov.za/images/PDFs/Gazette51437_20241028.pdf. – SAnews.gov.za
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