Tour operators' revenue has been hit as visa delays have led to to cancellations of about 60 percent of tours to South Africa in last two months.
The delay stretching to over 30 days has impacted both leisure trips and meeting incentive conference exhibition (MICE) tours. Travel industry sources say the delay in visa issuance is being caused due to shortage of visa officers in the South African high commission in New Delhi.
India is seventh biggest source market for South Africa and over a lakh tourists visited the country in 2012 and 2013. South African Tourism, the country's national tourism agency, is heavily invested in Indian market and holds regular trade shows and marketing and promotion campaigns.
"This sudden abrupt breakdown has left tourism industry in a rude shock. Tour operators have to face huge losses due to last minute cancellations. Customers are unhappy as last minute changes are costly. All the investments done by tour operators like advertising, blocking of hotels and air tickets are going down the drain and above to all it is loss to South Africa,'' said Guldeep Singh Sahni, president of Outbound Tour Operators of India.
With South African tours in a limbo, Australia and New Zealand are attracting the business. "Travel companies are also trying to shift their MICE groups to Indonesia, Turkey and other countries. Visas delays were there since last October but now situation has gone to bad from worse. Travel companies remit tour charges collected from customers to destination management companies or local travel agents in advance. These agents arrange local bookings and in wake of cancellations the agents are keeping back the remittance as credit. So the cash remitted by tour operators in India is being locked up,'' said a travel industry source.
An eight day South Africa trip costs Rs 1.2 lakh per person in a group tour category. Tour operators they say are giving full refund to customers in instances of visa delays.
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