The newly introduced e-visas will spur tourism growth in South Africa, says the government.
The South African government has introduced the electronic system to give out visas to tourist in visiting the country. According to the government, the new system will also create new job opportunities.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Routes Africa Conference in the Seychelles on Sunday, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk delivered the positive news for the country.
“There are opportunities to accelerate the creation of regional visa schemes. This would allow our international visitors and intra-African travellers to move more freely and efficiently, to the benefit of our continent,” he said.
He also added that the cost and bureaucracy in issuing visas, has slowed down the efforts of promoting tourism in the continent.
“The bureaucracy and costs involved in applying for and issuing visas are a major impediment to foreigners wishing to visit our shores, and to our own people who travel on our continent,” he said.
According to SouthAfrica.net the tourism arrivals in the country in March this year totalled to over 482,434 from African countries and an additional 703,067 from other parts of the world.
