The South African Tourism has urged Nigerians to visit the country for the forthcoming summer and Easter holidays.

Thekiso Rakolojane, West Africa’s regional head of SAT, disclosed this on Thursday in Kano, during the 46th Annual General Meeting of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA).

Mr Rakolojane described South Africa as a nation with a variety of experiences ranging from safari, beaches, arts, culture, history, delectable cuisines, scenic beauty of nature and festivals with hospitable people.

He said South Africa was the right destination for tourists with a low budget, as the nation had made provisions for various kinds of tourists.

“We are encouraging Nigerians to come for their holidays in South Africa for the summer and Easter holidays to experience a restful vacation,” he said.

Mr Rakolojane disclosed that South Africa had launched its e-visa application platform, which would ensure a seamless visa procurement process for tourists.

He added that the SAT would publish the application mode on social media platforms.

“Our visa procurement has now been digitalised, streamlined, easier now, so we hope to see a lot of Nigerians come for summer and Easter holidays,” he explained.

Mr Rakolojane also stated that before the outbreak of COVID-19, South Africa received over 40,000 Nigerian tourists, as 2020 recorded zero travels due to the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic.

He said 2021 was remarkable because 11,600 Nigerian tourists visited South Africa for holidays.

According to him, the organisation surpassed its target of tourist arrivals for that year.

He noted that Nigerians visited South Africa against all odds, considering the challenges of PCR tests, limited flights, the announcement of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and grounded airlines.

“For the past two years, we have been faced with a tremendous drop in tourist arrivals into South Africa, but recently, we have experienced an increase in Nigerians coming into South Africa,” he further explained. “The South Africa Airways flies three times in a week, Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Also, Air Peace goes to South Africa twice a week as well as some other airlines. So, Nigerians are loaded with lots of options of which airline to patronise in their quest to visit South Africa.” 

(NAN)