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South Africa’s first ever e-visas are now available in New Zealand

Source: Business Insider, 04/09/2019


South Africa’s first ever e-visas will be issued in New Zealand in
April, the tourism department’s communications director, Blessing
Manale, said.
The new visas, first announced by president Cyril Ramaphosa in his
State of the Union (SONA) address in February, will allow prospective
visitors to apply for a visa online.
Once granted, the e-visa can be printed at home. Currently, tourists
have to visit a South African embassy to be granted a visa.
Manale said the new e-visas will be piloted in New Zealand before a
global rollout.
The new e-visas, alongside relaxed visa rules for minors in December,
will hopefully help to grow South Africa’s international tourism
industry, Manale told Business Insider South Africa.
The South African government aims to have 21 million tourists
visiting the country by 2030, up from 10 million in 2018.
“South Africa is also finalizing the development of a new biometric
movement control system which will be piloted at Cape Town and
Lanseria International Airports [to improve passenger processing],”
Manale said.
Other improvements include the introduction of long multiple entry
visas for frequent and trusted travellers to South Africa, and
simplified visa requirements specifically for China and India.
Cornelis van der Waal, Head of Research at the Western Cape’s
investment agency Wesgro, said New Zealand bookings to Cape Town
already increased by 7% from April 2018 to April 2019, up from 409 to
437.
He said the new visa rules will result in an additional increase of
tourism numbers “over time.”
“Visa relaxation measures will take some time to make an impact.
People don`t choose a destination for next week,” Van der Waal told
Business Insider South Africa.
“Certainly not one with historical stringent regulations in place
[such as South Africa].”


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