India is set to become the biggest source market for South Africa tourism in the next five years, its Country Manager, Hanneli Slabber, said on Friday. The country expects 5 lakh Indian travellers by 2020.
“We are consistently increasing our marketing spends in India. We expect about 12 per cent growth in arrivals this year,” she said.
At present, UK is the top market for South Africa, followed by Germany and the US.
The new immigration policy was also announced on Friday. Now, business executives from BRICS nations can get a visa up to 10 years depending on the validity of the passport and an extended validity for intra company work permits. “Earlier business visa was available for 3 months to 2 years,” Slabber said. It has also added seven more centres in India to process visas.
“Apart from this, we are working with airlines to improve connectivity, and also on delivery on home ground to improve the travel experience for Indians,” she added.