Flight South Africa revealed that the appetite for travel to the 27 European Schengen destinations remains strong among South African passport holders despite the complexity, costs and delays associated with obtaining Schengen visas.
It said that according to a report on Schengen Statistics published in July, South Africans spent close to €13.2 million (more than R267m) in Schengen visa application fees in 2022, compared to 165,893 people who paid a €80 fee to apply for the permit.
The travel company said that while the costs, documentation required and time-consuming aspect of applying for Schengen visas is not new for South Africans post the Covid-19 pandemic, delays during Europe’s peak season period from June to August have risen as travel rebounded.
Lynette Machiri, Customer Experience Team Leader at Flight Centre South Africa said their recent data shows that travel volumes to the Schengen area have remained strong this year, even during the highly sought-after summer peak period.
“Recent data speaks to the continued resilience of the South African traveller and the popularity of Europe even amidst challenges.
“While we continue to see interest in visa-free destinations, often also destinations where our rand stretches that much further, it’s clear that Europe has always been a best-seller and is set to continue to be one in our market.”
Flight Centre South Africa revealed that the complexity and costliness of the current Schengen visa application procedure continue to be the subject of much debate.
“In some cases, travellers are required to journey to other hub cities for their applications if there is no representation in their own city or town. Additionally, a vast amount of supporting documentation is mandatory, even for frequent travellers to the Schengen zone who need to apply each year,” said Flight Centre SA.
The travel company highlighted that not all Schengen visas are issued with the same validity, which can vary from 1 year to 5 years for multi-entry visas and that the most common Schengen visa issued for South African travellers is a short stay visa which allows travellers a maximum stay of 90 days over a 180-day period.
The Association of Southern African Travel Agents (ASATA) has long advocated for a simpler and more cost-effective Schengen visa application process, which Machiri supports.
“Flight Centre is in full support of a more streamlined visa application process. Digital applications would be a game-changer, not only saving our travellers significant time and admin but also alleviating the extra costs,” she said.
Flight Centre SA revealed that as part of efforts to encourage development, the European Union Parliament and Council agreed to transform Schengen visa application procedures from lengthy paper documentation into an online process in the near future last year.
“This progressive step toward simplification reflects a shared commitment to meeting the demand for travel to the Schengen area while making the process more traveller- friendly.
“And in a much-anticipated step to finally get the ball rolling, last month the EU Parliament and the Council of the European Union finally agreed on rules to digitalise the procedure for Schengen visas. However, the agreement still needs to be approved by the Member States of the EU,” said Flight Centre SA.
It said that if successful, the new online system will allow travellers to apply, process, pay and monitor their application through a single website and there are no definite timelines as to how long this approval process will take.