De Lille hopes to attract more Chinese tourists to SA

Tourism

Cape Town — South African Minister of Tourism, Patricia De Lille, said her department will increase efforts to attract more Chinese tourists to South Africa in a bid to boost the economy.

De Lille was speaking at a glamorous event in Pretoria on Monday night which was attended by the Ambassador of China to South Africa, Chen Xiaodong, hosed Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. De Lille said she would be meeting with Home Affairs Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, and the presidency to discuss ways to increase tourism from China to South Africa, IOL reported.

“My department, South African Tourism and I are focused on welcoming more Chinese visitors to South Africa. I am meeting with the minister of home affairs and the Presidency’s project management office this week to see how to improve South Africa’s visa processing and enable more Chinese visitors to travel here,” De Lille said.

South Africa has missed out on Chinese tourists post-Covid-19, with 40 million Chinese tourists travelling to other countries, but only 28 000 travelling to South Africa.

“South Africa wants to welcome thousands more tourists to our national parks, cities, townships, and small towns to experience our culture, food, nature, and more. That is why we are partnering with Chinese tech firms like CTrip.com, Tencent and many more,” she said.

De Lille said she looks forward to China opening its tourism office in South Africa, so that South Africans can also be encouraged to visit and experience the wonders of China.

China is South Africa’s largest global trade partner. At the same time, South Africa is also China’s biggest trading partner on the African continent.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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