South Africa eases travel requirements for Chinese

Beautiful sunrise at Blyde River Canyon, a landmark natural feature of South Africa. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese tourists don't need transit visas anymore when they travel through South Africa's OR Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka and Lanseria international airports to its six neighboring countries — Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, according to the country's embassy in Beijing.

That's just one of the moves that South Africa has made to attract more Chinese mainland tourists in the past few months. Besides existing visa centers in Beijing and Shanghai, it opened new ones in Chengdu and Guangzhou last August. To strengthen business communication, it will issue 10-year multiple-entry visas to corporate executives of fellow BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — if they provide sufficient documents.

China has become a core market for the country in recent years. In 2013, the number of tourists from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong reached 151,847, an increase of 14.7 over 2012.

Bradley Brouwer, South African Tourism's president for the Asia Pacific region, said his agency will work closely with Chinese partners to offer more convenience to Chinese consumers, so they can enjoy the country’s natural beauty, diversified cultures and varied wildlife.

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