Visa waiver sparks Chinese tourism boom at Sun City, but more direct flights to South Africa are needed
Nicola Mawson
South Africa’s 90-day visa waiver and the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme is encouraging Chinese visitors back into the country and breathing fresh life into the tourism industry, after 1 200 guests descended on Sun City over the weekend to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Under the Government of National Unity (GNU), South Africa has waived the requirement for visa applications to be made in person in India and China, allowing these to be done via tour operators.
This, Sun City general manager, Brett Hoppe, told Business Report will help bring Chinese tourists into South Africa, which will create jobs.
“The more tourists we can put on the ground, the more people we can employ,” he said.
This is the third year in a row that Sun City held Chinese New Year celebrations following the end of the lockdown to slow the spread of the Covid-19. This year China ushers in the Year of the Snake.
“We’ve got a beautiful function, we’ve got 1 200 people this year,” Hoppe said while wearing a scarf emblazoned with black snakes on a red background.
Hoppe said about 15 years ago Sun City was booked solid for two weeks around the time of the New Year and he hoped that the relaxation of the visa requirements would get the resort back to those levels.
The entire sector pulled together to lobby government for the change in visa requirements, Hoppe explained. “Our wishes were heard… Sometimes you have to put your brand in your pocket.”
Hoppe added that the Western Cape was seeing tourism flourish because all stakeholders worked in unison to drive that sector. According to Statistics South Africa, the sector directly contributed 2.3% to gross domestic product in 2021 and 2.1% in 2020, but below the 2019 pre-pandemic contribution of 3.7%.
The South African government indicated that this figure was expected to reach 8.8% last year.
Despite a slowdown in economic growth in China, which was expected to be 5% last year, a decline from the 6% recorded in 2019 before the lockdown, Hoppe pointed out that it was still a vast market. In 2023, the first year China opened its borders following COVID-19, South Africa accounted for only 0.33% of international tourists from that country, according to South African Tourism.
Hoppe added that South Africa is a highly sought after destination by Chinese tourists and, as it is a huge market, was set to explode now that visa requirements had been simplified. “The potential is huge for us.”
South African Tourism stated in a recent document that recovery in Chinese tourism to this country is only expected to reach pre-pandemic levels next year.
However, Hoppe said, there is a need to airliners to implement more flights to South Africa from China. He explained that, while the “Chinese market for South Africa is critically important” it is a difficult destination for those tourists given the paucity of direct flights.
Airports Company of South Africa CEO, Mpumi Mpofu, said during a festive season travel update last week that capacity in terms of space for passengers was only up 3.6% year-on-year. “Planning by airlines is not at a level at which they are increasing capacity,” she told members of the media.
Mpofu added that travellers from the Asia–Pacific region, which includes China, were increasing.
* Mawson was hosted in Sun City by the resort
BUSINESS REPORT