With 9% of total Indian visitors to South Africa travelling from Bengaluru, the city is among the top three source markets for South African Tourism in India. A majority of people travel for leisure (47%) while 43% travel for business and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE). The data was shared by South African Tourism at a press conference here on Wednesday where officials revealed that they aimed to achieve 64% year-on-year growth in arrivals from India in 2022.
Solo and leisure travellers are the most frequent segments to South Africa, while the year-end period — September to December — are preferred travel months among Bengalureans for trips to South Africa.
The 36-member South African trade delegation, which is travelling to Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad this year, also revealed that India retains its place among the top three focus markets for South African Tourism as prior to the pandemic, India served as the eighth largest international source market for the country.
Boosting connectivity and ease of travel to the destination is a core area of focus this year. “The destination, which remains open to Indian travellers, is also processing tourist visas on priority. At present, several stopover flights fly from India to South Africa. Travellers from India to South Africa will be required to produce a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours from the time of departure from the country of origin to South Africa,” the release added.
“We are glad to announce that we are on track to roll out e-visas in India in the coming months. We are also conscious of the need for value-driven itineraries and are undertaking bullish measures to ensure that every rupee spent ensures maximum returns. By engaging with airlines on subsidised fares for the India market, we are looking to bring down the cost of travel remarkably,” Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head, MEISEA, South African Tourism, said.
