What is Trusted Tour Operator Scheme? 5 points to know about South Africa’s scheme to woo tourists from India, China

South Africa has introduced a new initiative to boost tourism, particularly targeting visitors from India and China. The government is inviting tour operators from these countries to partner with local businesses through this program.

The Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) was announced by the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr. Leon Schreiber, two months after he first proposed the idea. The TTOS scheme aims to create jobs by increasing tourism in the region.

The statement highlighted that while Chinese tourists made over 100 million trips abroad in 2023, only 93,000 visited South Africa, compared to Australia, which welcomed over 1.4 million Chinese visitors. Currently, Indian tourists make up just 3.9% of all international visitors to South Africa, while Chinese tourists account for 1.8%. The department noted that a 10% increase in tourism could boost economic growth by 0.6% and create thousands of jobs.

What is TTOS? 5 points to know

1. Addressing Challenges: 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, the ministry statement said.

2. Visa applications: Approved tour operators will benefit from reduced red tape and enhanced turnaround times on visa applications they submit for large tour groups, it said. Indian operators have for several years now lamented the long delays in securing visas for their clients, which TTOS now aims to address as well, the department said.

3. Dedicated Processing Team: 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, it said.

4. Fair Evaluation System: “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 department said.

5. Target Launch Date: “Our 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 future, depending on internal capacity and the success of the rollout,” the department said.

It also added that Indian companies that wish to express an interest in the scheme simply need to visit touroperator.dha.gov.za:8443 or access the portal via the TTOS banner on www.dha.gov.za, it said.

(With inputs from PTI)