South Africa Tourism Minister on The New Visa Scheme for Indian Travelers — India Report
Skift Take
South Africa’s new Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) for Indian travelers came into effect on Monday. The scheme, which was announced last year, is an initiative that aims to provide travelers with credible points of contact who clearly understand the visa processes of South Africa.
Here’s some context: Last year, South Africa decided to launch this scheme for Indian and Chinese travelers to capitalize on the growing outbound potential of these markets. And solving the visa issue was key.
South Africa therefore decided to onboard trusted tour operators to its program as a point of contact for travelers in India. “Indian visitors and businesses will be able to go directly to one of these tour operators for their visa applications,” South African Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille had earlier said.
South Africa also asked the Indian tourism ministry for their database of over 5,000 accredited tour operators to invite them to join the scheme.
Along with this, South Africa has launched an electronic travel authorization system for Indian travelers, allowing individual travelers to apply for visas online and get a visa in a couple of days.
“We have seen that there is a massive increase of outbound travelers to countries nearby where visa regulations are simpler. Now that we are transforming our visa regime, we are expecting a similar response from India,” de Lille told Skift in an interview.
India is key to South Africa’s tourism plans. In 2023, India accounted for 4% of the country’s total arrivals. In 2025, it is looking
