South African Tourism (SA Tourism) has welcomed the news from Department of Home Affairs that seven countries have been added to the visa waiver list for travel to South Africa.
Citizens of Ghana, Sao Tome and Principe, New Zealand, Cuba, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia no longer require visas to visit South Africa.
The announcement was made by Dr Aaron Motsoaledi this afternoon, during the Department of Home Affairs Budget Vote speech.
“This is amazing news and could not have come at better time for the tourism industry,” said SA Tourism Acting CEO, Sthembiso Dlamini.
“As we look to achieve our 5-in-5 goals, the visa waivers will go a long way to assisting the increase of tourist arrivals into South Africa.”
“The visa waivers to countries in all of our key markets will ensure that we stimulate growth in the industry that is in line with the mandate issued to us by President Cyril Ramaphosa,” added
Dlamini.
The Department of Home affairs also committed to employing additional staff to key markets where there is high demand for visas thus decreasing the visa waiting time.
“Home Affairs offices that process visas for India, China and Nigeria will receive additional human resources is a further indication and commitment by government to ensure that the tourism
industry is prioritized,” concluded Dlamini.
