South Africa is issuing tourist visas to Indian applicants within 5 working days. In the recent past, tourist inflows from India slightly reduced due to few visa restrictions that were introduced.
Now, once an application is submitted, it takes only five days to verify the application and complete other checks required for visa issuance. So, Indian tourists applying for a South African tourist visa can expect their visas in 5 working days.
This also comes as a measure to restore the tourism sector of the country that was affected due to Ebola in the African countries. Though South Africa remained unaffected by the outbreak, the tourism industry recorded a low turnout of tourists.
South Africa records the highest tourist inflow from the UK with 500,000 each year, and India stands 5th with 133,000 in 2013. However, it is expected that India would become the top tourist sourcing country to South Africa by 2020.
The connectivity is an issue for now, because there are not many flights from major Indian cities. Most flights are routed through Seychelles, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. So the respective ministry is also trying to improve the connectivity between the countries for better and easier travel experience.
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