Rakolojane
described South Africa as a nation with a variety of experiences ranging from
safaris, beaches, arts, culture, history, delicious cuisines, scenic beauty of
nature and festivals with hospitable people.
He
said that South Africa was the right destination for budget tourists as
the nation had made provisions for various types of tourists.
“We
are encouraging Nigerians to vacation in South Africa during the summer and
Easter holidays to experience a peaceful vacation,” he said.
Rakolojane revealed that South
Africa had launched its e-Visa application platform that would ensure a smooth
visa process for tourists in general.
He
said the mode of application would be posted on the South African Tourism
social media platforms.
“Our visa procurement has now become
more digitized, streamlined, easier now, so we expect to see a lot of Nigerians
coming for the summer and Easter holidays,” he said.
Rakolojane
said that before the COVID-19 outbreak, South Africa received more than 40,000
Nigerian tourists, as no trips were recorded in 2020 due to the lockdown caused
by the pandemic.
He said that 2021 was notable in
that 11,600 Nigerian tourists visited South Africa for the holidays.
According to him, the organization
exceeded its goal of tourist arrivals for that year.
He noted that Nigerians visited
South Africa against all odds, considering the challenges of PCR testing,
limited flights, the announcement of the omicron variant of COVID-19, and
airlines on the ground.
“Over the last two years, we have
faced a tremendous drop in tourist arrivals in South Africa, but recently we
have seen an increase in Nigerian arrivals in South Africa.
“We want this trend to continue, we
see many film companies coming to shoot their films in South Africa, this is
encouraging for us. So we say that South Africa is open to all who wish to
explore the tourism potential of the country.
“South Africa Airways flies three
times a week, Sunday, Wednesday and Friday; also Air Peace goes to South Africa
twice a week as well as some other airlines.
“So Nigerians have a lot of choice as to which airline to patronize in their quest to visit South Africa,” he said.
By - Admin
By - Admin
By - Admin