Visa regime overhaul will ‘attract tourists and scarce skills’
Tourism, which accounts for about a tenth of the economy and employs about 1.6-million people, is seen as providing a major impetus for growth and job creation
Changes to the visa rules governing children, scarce skills and turnaround times are part of the “complete overhaul” of the visa system that government envisages to support the tourism sector. This was announced on Thursday by communications minister Nomvula Mokonyane during a post-cabinet media briefing. She said these were among a number of “inhibiting factors” that had been identified around the visa regime. Tourism, which accounts for about a tenth of the economy and employs about 1.6-million people, is seen as providing a major impetus for growth and job creation and is likely to be one of the key focus areas of the economic stimulus package President Cyril Ramaphosa has said would be forthcoming. The package is under construction by the government.
Mokonyane said the stimulus package would be presented “in a short period of time”. She said the government was busy costing the measures to be implemented for this. The minister said the visa regime was in the immediate contr...
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