South African High Commission and South African Tourism partnered to organise a day long ‘Tourism and Investment Conference 2015,’ which was held to provide information on tourism and investment opportunities in the country, as well as announce the new South African Immigration Policy.
Held in Delhi, the event was led by M Mogale, South Africa’s deputy high commissioner in India, Hanneli Slabber, country manager, South African Tourism in India and Stefanus Botes, minister counsellor Economic. The panelists included experts from India and South Africa and representatives from the High Commission ensuring an exchange on a range of topics including the new immigration rules and regulations, investment opportunities in the tourism sector and the many new initiatives by the country to facilitate business.
Commenting during the conference, Mogale said, “India is the third largest market in Asia and the number of Indians travelling overseas is set to rise from around 15 million today to 50 million by 2020, we see this as a great opportunity to attract Indians investors to explore avenues in the tourism sector. It gives me immense pleasure to be associated with this prestigious conference that gives us a platform to share the latest information with the media, the industry experts and industrialists alike.”
Slabber added, “We have consistently increased our marketing spends in India to promote tourism as it is slated to become the biggest market for SA tourism by 2020, when we expect five lakh travellers. We are very optimistic about the Indian market and are expecting a double digit growth this year (about 12 per cent). South Africa’s spectacular scenery, friendly people, world-class infrastructure make it one of the most desired destinations in the world.”
As an emerging investment market, South Africa offers compelling incentives to businesses and tourists. The new immigration policy gives business executives from BRICS nations a visa up to 10-years, depending on the validity of the passport and an extended validity for intra company work permits. Further, the immigration policy making it easier to get study permits and tourist visa, and residence permits (for life partners).