SA Tourism aims at 64% growth in arrivals from India

With 48 per cent of the total Indian visitors to South Africa travelling from Mumbai, the city is the leading source market for South African Tourism in India. To accelerate travel recovery momentum in India, South African Tourism is looking at capitalising on strong consumer demand in the country with their biggest travel trade initiative in India – their annual 'Roadshow'. The tourism board showcased longterm investment and interest in the Indian market and outlined a strategic roadmap to garner a 64 per cent, Year-on-Year, increase in Indian visitors in 2022.

India retains its place amongst the top three focus markets for South African Tourism. This is aided by the fact that prior to the pandemic, India served as the 8th-largest international source market for South Africa. The country is expected to maintain its position in the top-10 this year as well. Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune continue to be top Indian source markets to South Africa.

Neliswa Nkani, hub head, MEISEA, South African Tourism, said, “We are one of the best tourism countries anyone can visit, but many overlook South Africa. They mostly go to the northern countries but the dependence on the north should reduce and the wings must spread to the south. After

Omricon was announced by our country, it was difficult to come back on our feet but we have to find the balance between social and economic restrictions. Therefore, there are fewer Covid restrictions in South Africa – only masks, sanitisers and self-monitoring.” She added that there is also no quarantine upon arrival and that they are starting e-visas which will be very quick to get. The tourism board is also very close to getting an airline deal which will make flight tickets to South Africa cost around Rs 40,000.

“The bond that South Africa has with India is more than just tourism. Both the countries are resilient and are reflections of each other. We never closed our borders for India during the pandemic and now we are trying our best to make South Africa as affordable as possible. We want to give the tourists assurance, engagement and safety while making their trip affordable. We have around 3000 adventure sports including bungee jumping, snorkeling with sharks and more, and the most interesting part is that the highest consumer of these sports for us are Indians,” added Nkani.

The South African delegation held a two-day event that ran from 12.00 pm to 8.00 pm on March 12 and 13 with culturally immersive activities like South African face painting, hair braiding, beadwork and DIY graffiti walls in addition to Oculus – a virtual reality journey into the deep blue seas and safari routes of South Africa. There were also performances by South African dance troupes, indigenous music and delectable food cooked by South African chefs during the event at the Phoenix Palladium in Mumbai.