{"id":55787,"date":"2023-10-31T06:17:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T06:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india"},"modified":"2023-10-31T06:33:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T06:33:05","slug":"government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india","title":{"rendered":"Government wants to relax SA visa requirements for China and India"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>South Africa\u2019s tourism minister is pushing for visa requirements to be eased or waived for Chinese and Indian nationals to boost visitor numbers from the world\u2019s most populous nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisas are a problem,\u201d Patricia de Lille, who was appointed to her post in March, said in an interview in Bloomberg\u2019s Cape Town office on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see my role as dealing with regulations, the visa issues, regulations around tour operating licenses and then, air access, getting more flights to come to South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government has identified the development of the tourism industry as key to reducing a 33% unemployment rate but has long faced criticism that it makes it too difficult to enter the country.<\/p>\n

The visa system is overseen by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, who acknowledges its deficiencies, but complains that he lacks the staff and budget to fix it.<\/p>\n

An online visa system that\u2019s available in about 34 countries doesn\u2019t work properly and while some qualification requirements have been dropped, including the submission of bank statements, security screening continues to result in delays.<\/p>\n

De Lille was tasked with attracting at least 10 million visitors in the year through March, the same as before the global pandemic struck, and is targeting 15 million by 2030. That\u2019s down from a previous goal of 21 million, a revision necessitated by changing global travel patterns.<\/p>\n

De Lille said she intends to meet with Motsoaledi ahead of a visit to Beijing next month to discuss whether visas can be waived for Chinese and Indian visitors for limited-duration stays, a concession already extended to those from Brazil, Russia, the US and the UK.<\/p>\n

The US, UK and Germany account for the largest number of non-African visitors to South Africa, but arrivals from China and India are surging and can rise further if visa rules are eased, the minister said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a work in progress, but you have to consider the mandate\u201d of other government departments and ministries in dealing with the visa issue, she said. Safety Measures<\/p>\n

De Lille\u2019s department is also working to ensure visitors remain safe following a series of attacks that have scarred the country\u2019s international reputation. It has allocated R174 million to train 2,300 safety monitors, who will be deployed from December to help secure 59 key locations, including national parks and airports.<\/p>\n

The tourism industry has meanwhile invested in a mobile phone application that will enable visitors to summon help from private security companies and the police at the push of a button if they are attacked.<\/p>\n

Companies are also helping patrol roads leading to the Kruger National Park, the country\u2019s biggest wildlife reserve because the police don\u2019t have the capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me assure you that 99% of tourists that come to South Africa go back home safely,\u201d De Lille said. \u201cYou can never really stop these crooks, they are always one step ahead of you, so it\u2019s best to warn people\u201d which areas to avoid and ensure they are well informed about potential dangers, she said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africa\u2019s tourism minister is pushing for visa requirements to be eased or waived for Chinese and Indian nationals to boost visitor numbers from the world\u2019s most populous nations. \u201cVisas are a problem,\u201d Patricia de Lille, who was appointed to her post in March, said in an interview in Bloomberg\u2019s Cape Town […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":55785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-55787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nGovernment wants to relax SA visa requirements for China and India - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Africa\u2019s tourism minister is pushing for visa requirements to be eased or waived for Chinese and Indian nationals ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Government wants to relax SA visa requirements for China and India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Africa\u2019s tourism minister is pushing for visa requirements to be eased or waived for Chinese and Indian nationals ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-31T06:17:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-31T06:33:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1698721349.667691.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Government wants to relax SA visa requirements for China and India\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-31T06:17:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-31T06:33:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india\"},\"wordCount\":526,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1698721349.667691.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/government-wants-to-relax-sa-visa-requirements-for-china-and-india\",\"name\":\"Government wants to relax SA visa requirements for China and India - 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