#Indaba2019: President Ramaphosa promises world class e-visa system

President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the 2019 Africa Travel Indaba at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. Picture: Elmond Jiyane/GCIS

President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the 2019 Africa Travel Indaba at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. Picture: Elmond Jiyane/GCIS

Published May 4, 2019

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Durban - South Africa will soon revisit its visa policies. Speaking at this year's Africa Travel Indaba, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country will introduce a world-class e-visa system and reduce the red tape that travellers face when visiting the country. 

He said that in order for South Africa to be a top-class destination for travellers, a number of issues needed to be addressed. 

One of them being the visa policies of the country. 

He said: “We must reduce the onerous and often unnecessary bureaucratic red tape that tourists who want to visit our countries face. This requires us to streamline our tourist visa regimes.

President Cyril Ramaphosa interacts with delegates and exhibitors as he visits stands at the 2019 Africa Travel Indaba at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. Picture: Elmond Jiyane/GCIS

“As South Africa, we are committed to working towards the African Union’s goal of visa-free travel and a single African air transport market. We are in the process of radically overhauling our visa dispensation for the rest of the world and introducing a world-class e-visa system. The challenges are going to be ironed out,” he said. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa interacts with delegates and exhibitors as he visits stands at the 2019 Africa Travel Indaba at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban. Picture: Elmond Jiyane/GCIS

Africa’s Travel Indaba is one of the largest tourism marketing events on the African calendar and one of the top three “must visit” events of its kind on the global calendar.

The multi-award winning travel event, which is owned by SA Tourism and was this year again hosted by the city of Durban, showcases the widest variety of Africa's best tourism products and attracts international buyers and media from across the world. 

Preliminary data shows that this year’s event saw some 7 000 exhibitors with 16 000 delegates descending on the city of Durban for the three-day event.

IOL Travel

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