South Africa is losing valuable tourism business from Latin America as complicated visa procedures force travellers to cancel or postpone trips with some travel agents refusing to sell the destination.
Travel trade representatives in Colombia and Guatemala, citing lengthy processing times, high costs and uncertainty about visa applications, are deterring potential visitors and calling for South Africa’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system to be extended to more Latin American markets.
The ETA system was initially rolled out for China, India, Indonesia and Mexico. Mexican travel agents tell Tourism Update that, although the system has made applying for a South African visa easier, technical issues remain.
Colombian bookings lost
Andrés Torres, CEO and Founder of Descubre Travel, says obtaining a South African visa for Colombian travellers remains an extremely challenging, time-consuming and costly process.
“One of the main challenges is that Colombian applicants currently have to process their visa applications through the South African diplomatic mission in Venezuela. This creates considerable logistical difficulties as passports and supporting documents must be sent internationally, generally through DHL.”
Torres says poor communication compounds the problem with applicants struggling to track their applications or obtain timely updates.
“There is no effective system for tracking applications or obtaining timely updates. Most inquiries must be submitted by email and responses can take a considerable amount of time.”
Applicants must allow 45 days for the process, he says, creating uncertainty for high-value travel arrangements that require careful coordination.
“For a travel agency, this is an extraordinary burden for what should be a relatively straightforward administrative procedure. Does this affect demand? Absolutely. South Africa does not have a demand problem in our market. It has an accessibility problem that is limiting its tourism potential.”
Karen Salamanca, Account Manager: South America at Marketing Collection, confirms that travel agents have lost Colombian bookings because of the complicated visa process.
“The passports have to be sent to Venezuela through the post office and it can take one to two months to get the passport back,” she says.
“Some of our clients are doctors and businessmen who cannot be without their passport for that long. Many trips have been cancelled or postponed because of the time it takes as well as the fact that, when some clients hear they have to send their passport to Venezuela, they get nervous because they don’t trust Venezuela.”
Regárdo Lewis, International Sales Manager for Rovos Rail and St James Guesthouses, says he has also encountered reluctance among Guatemalan agents to sell South Africa, citing cases where clients incurred substantial costs without securing visas.
“I visited agents in Guatemala who refuse to sell South Africa at all. One of the agents had high-profile clients, travelling on Guatemalan passports, who had to apply for visas with the embassy in Mexico before they were part of the ETA system. They paid thousands of dollars, didn’t get their visas and lost all their money in the process. The agent also lost her VIP clients and is not interested in selling Africa at all anymore.”
Mexican ETA challenges
Andy Brosou, Director of Triumph Travel, says the ETA system has significantly improved the process of obtaining a South African visa in Mexico but it is challenging.
“Getting visas is much easier using the ETA system but, sometimes, the system does not work perfectly. It gets stuck and generates delays. And, when it gets stuck, there is no one to contact through the system for help.”
Brosou says, once you have applied for an ETA, you can no longer apply at the embassy for a visa. If the ETA system gets stuck, the traveller is at an impasse.
He describes the experience of applying for a visa through the South African embassy in Mexico as “very hostile”.
Brosou also cites the challenge of applying for child visas through the ETA system.
“It’s not possible to apply for children so the process of getting visas for families is very complicated.”
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