How South Africa Can Attract 500,000 to One Million Chinese Tourists

The recently adopted and imminently to be implemented Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) is without question going to be a game changer for China outbound tourism to South Africa, but it will not be a silver bullet. It currently takes Chinese individual travellers 8 weeks to apply for and receive a South African tourist visa, while it takes 3-4 weeks for group tourist visas to be issued. In the recent past, it took even longer. Please just take my word for it, such long waiting times are unacceptable for Chinese individuals and outbound tour operators, effectively making destination South Africa an difficult choice. Market trends make it crystal clear that Africa as a tourist destination has become much more popular for Chinese tourists since the end of the pandemic, and with visa free/visa on arrival regimes in Kenya and Tanzania (strong South African rivals for safari styled tourism) Chinese tourists have been flocking there while South Africa has been sorely losing out on much needed tourism dollars.

The first allotment of TTOS includes 22 South African local landing operators, 14 Indian outbound tour operators and 29 Chinese outbound tour operators. Many of the big Chinese outbound players are there, including Caissa, CITS, CYTS, Utour, GZL and Ctrip (Trip . com - China’s largest online travel agency) and if all of these players indeed gain access to expedited South African tourist visa’s then it will be a game changer, at the very least, destination South Africa will become marketable again as truth be told, over the years as South Africa’s tourist visa system became worse and worse many Chinese tour operators simply stopped promoting and selling packages of our country. There is furthermore no question that a visa free/visa on arrival will be even more beneficial to South Africa’s ability to attract increased Chinese tourists but I’ll personally take this TTOS victory for now as now it is no longer almost impossible to promote destination South Africa. A massive call out of gratitude must be given to Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille who no doubt has been applying significant pressure on government to fix this, and equally special thanks must go to Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber who has implemented the necessary changes.

With the first battle victory behind us, now that destination South Africa from a tourist visa perspective is almost normal, the hard struggle has begun. If you are an owner or manager of a tourism product or brand in South Africa and are now expecting Chinese tour groups or individuals to come knocking on your door, I need to honestly point out that you should not take it for granted that this will simply just happen. I also need to honestly inform you that South African Tourism (SAT) cannot and will not be able to do it alone.

South African Tourism is currently under world class management and I need to further stress that the South African Tourism management of the China outbound tourism market have the appropriate experience and are very capable to manage significant growth from China. By competitor country/destination comparison however, South African Tourism are under resourced. But its more than that, even well funded and resourced Australia Tourism (who receive 1.4 million Chinese tourists and are aiming for 2 million and a good comparison model for South Africa due to: Southern hemisphere, long-haul flight requirements, ex-British colony heritage, outdoor adventure, fun cities etc.) does not work alone to promote destination Australia. Each province in Australia promotes itself in China with its own trade and media road shows, they have their own China based social media platforms. Most Australian cities do the same. An incredible number of Australian tourism products and brands have their own representative agencies in China promoting themselves with China’s leading outbound tour operators on a daily basis, this will include airlines, hotel and resort groups, theme parks, even individual malls promote themselves independently and fiercely in the China market. Australia doesn’t receive over a million Chinese tourists by accident, each and every tourism and lifestyle manager in Australia “gets it”, they invest hard, they strategize and they work even harder, but it has paid off in dividends that South Africans to date can’t even imagine in terms of raw income, job creation and wealth generation.

To develop a collective, successful and sustainable blueprint for destination South Africa to attract half to a million Chinese tourists we first need to understand what is the past and current state of China outbound tourism to South Africa. In 2024 South Africa received 93,000 Chinese tourists while the most South Africa ever received was over a decade ago when we received 135,000. Back then we were on the upward trajectory but owing to communication mismanagement of Ebola in West Africa and xenophobic attacks inside South Africa and not to mention government shooting ourselves in the foot with the child abridged certificate disaster we as a destination got stuck in the mud. Furthermore, even today the majority of Chinese group tours to South Africa follow unexciting and completely outdated itineraries. I have nothing against Cape Town, the Garden Route, Pretoria and Sun City, in fact I love/like them all, but obviously we have much, much more to offer as a tourism country than them alone. I understand that it is less work for Chinese tour operators to sell the same itinerary year in and year out, I also understand there are profit considerations with well established shopping/extra income opportunities along these routes, but we are not going to maximize Chinese tourism to South Africa with that dated model and experience. Now the question is, how do we get Chinese tourists to travel to many more parts of South Africa? And how do we change the model for the future to precisely maximize tourism numbers and spend from China that will benefit more South Africans including the traditional areas like the Western Cape and North West province?

I am open to suggestions but it is my opinion that the onus lies with each and every South African lifestyle and tourism manager to proactively enter the China market, physically and virtually, to invest in the market, and educate and promote their product, their service, their community, their industry, their area, their region, their province and our country to each and every Chinese outbound tour operator and every Chinese consumer they can reach.

How? Let’s start with the lower hanging fruit, China’s outbound tour operators who are responsible for easily 70-80% of Chinese tourism to South Africa cannot be found in one city. While Beijing hosts the headquarters of China’s largest state owned tour operators it is impossible to ignore Shanghai (the financial capital of China), Guangzhou (the manufacturing capital of China), Shenzhen (the technology capital of China) or Chengdu (dominates western China). But these are the core first tier cities, other first tier cities remain, and what about second tier cites that are now of the biggest drivers of China outbound tourism growth? If your country, province, city or your own managed tourism brand/product is not proactively engaged with at least China’s wholesale, retail or niche tailor-made tour operators, you are simply not in the game, period.

Vitally important is one’s presence on Chinese social media. Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) is currently the most popular and effective platform in China, and especially so from a tourism perspective. Chinese travel agents and consumer alike use Xiaohongshu to research tourism brands and products, if you are not on Xiaohongshu through a dedicated account, or somewhat regularly mentioned on the platform through third party advocates, you simply do not exist, period. Google, Facebook, Instagram and yes, even Tik-Tok is completely and utterly banned inside China. China’s most widely daily used app WeChat remains not only relevant but important as well, as does Tik-Tok’s brother but unlinked company platform in China, Douyin. To educate and entertain, or preferably both, Chinese consumers on their social media platforms are not only essential for the growth of Free Independent Travel (FIT) tourists out of China, it is also very important to educate the broader consumer public who still prefer to travel in tour operator organised groups that they will start demanding newer, more diverse and more exciting itineraries from their tour operators. If you don’t educate the Chinese consumers about the wealth and richness of what destination South Africa has to offer, including the uniqueness of your managed product or services, how will the Chinese consumer know or come to learn of it?

Lastly, some tips. 1) Considering China’s economy is not the strongest right now, it will improve but will require a little bit of time, if your product is senior tourist (50-80 years old) friendly and offers great value for money, you are in a good space. With record unemployment amongst the Gen-Z kids and economic strain on Millennials, especially the retiree segment, with their unlimited free time and good savings are currently the most robust tourism market segment in China. We have experienced Chinese guests in their 80’s doing overland trucking safari’s through Africa, don’t assume they shy away from mild adventure. Chinese seniors follow social media such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin as much as their younger counterparts, so consider tailoring your content to them too! 2) For those really not in the know, please also bare in mind that Chinese tourists, of all ages, do not chill and lounge by the pool, on the contrary, they like to be as busy as possible, they want to do everything, see everything and experience as much as humanly possible. So if you wish to attract them to your area, you need to show them what else is available in your area, how will they keep busy and active? 3) Without doubt the biggest tourism holiday decision makers in China are women. This holds true for families, couples and a larger number of women friendship traveling groups than men. If you only have shot, target the women and the men will follow. 4) Chinese tourists are authentic pursuers of culture, history and cuisine. If you can showcase cultural aspects they are not familiar with and/or excite them with unique and exciting food, you are on a winning ticket. 5) a relatively new trend is for young Chinese adults to travel overseas and participate in programs where they can earn a certificate whether it be with a conservation NGO, wine making or gaining a diving licence as examples. Those that can provide a recognised certificate that the young adults can include on their resume as proof of their holistic life work/experience, making them more competitive in the difficult job market, you can absolutely benefit from China outbound tourism. There are many, many more considerations, tactics and strategies, but this should suffice for those starting afresh.

In conclusion, our work as a collective destination South Africa to attract significantly more Chinese tourists has only just begun. There is no reason why we should not be bold and set ambitious targets for ourselves, but it will require a collection of individual, community, industry, regional, provincial and a national effort. If we do achieve hundreds of thousands to a million Chinese tourist arrivals we will create and sustain tens of thousands of much needed South African jobs and careers. United we stand, divided we stall. Which is it going to be?

https://youtu.be/69xS9qdAJzM?si=JysJbS5TQaZtwQMfChina Global Television Network Broadcast about South Africa TTOS (Trusted Tour Operator Scheme)