South Africa intends to become a leading and safe tourism destination for China

In an attempt to attract Chinese tourists to South Africa as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa has launched a smart content portal on the Chinese market.

The portal presents 150 points of interest from the country's provinces, and shows some buildings where people can choose cities to hold meetings and be led on suggested itineraries. It also allows users to explore what the country can offer in Mandarin language.

Mansoor Mohamed, head of the South African Tourism Asia Pacific Hub, said they are connecting trends between the Chinese tourism industry and South Africa. He said they have more confidence in the Chinese market, adding they will focus on promoting tours.

"China is projected to be a leading source market for arrivals by the year 2030. The target for the current year is to get about 100,000 core Chinese trade partners trained on the portal," he said. "Our plans to lure tourists from China include positioning South Africa in the Chinese market as a leading and safe tourism destination that offers excellent sustainable and culturally diverse experiences and breathtaking wildlife and natural beauty."

China is South Africa's largest trading partner and recently celebrated 20 years of diplomatic relations, which Mohamed said they would also use to sell the country as a destination. He explained Chinese tourists love South African wildlife, natural beauty, food and wine. Mohamed said they are addressing some concerns raised by Chinese visitors.

He said: "The biggest concern expressed by Chinese visitors in a post-pandemic world is their health and safety. They want to know if the number of COVID-19 cases is low and whether the South African population has been vaccinated. Other issues such as lack of direct flights, distance and challenging visa application processes are being resolved. For example, an e-visa system has been launched and we are continuing to lobby airlines to introduce more direct flights."

Nellie Swart, associate professor in tourism at University of South Africa, said the country has the potential to have more visitors from China if they remove hurdles like visa problems and connecting flights, as reported by China Daily GROUP, a partner of TV BRICS.

Photo: pexels.com