Share This Article
As we celebrate Tourism Month in September – while simultaneously approaching South Africa’s peak travel season – there is convincing evidence that reveals global travel to be on the rise, once again.
When international borders started to open in mid-2021, the travel and tourism industry expected a slow recovery, primarly due to too many travel resticitions still in place, coupled with an uneven vaccine rollout globally.
However, the recent surge in travel activity has taken the industry by surprise, exceeding the conservative recovery projections. According to leading visa outsourcing and technology services specialist VFS Global, the number of visa applications between January and August 2022 alone was almost four times larger than the total number of applications for the whole of last year.
Jiten Vyas, Chief Commercial Officer, at VFS Global, says, “This increase is primarily driven by a high pent-up travel demand. With the opening of international borders, easing of travel restrictions, and the resumption of regular international flights, the industry is witnessing peak ‘revenge’ travel.
Canada and Australia were the top locations for outbound travel from South Africa in terms of visa application volumes, while growth was also seen in outbound travel to Schengen locations, particularly in Italy and the Netherlands. According to Vyas, the resumption of in-campus classes at overseas universities was also a major contributing factor to the spike in outbound traffic.
“Even though the effects of the pandemic remain omnipresent in certain parts of the world, many embassies are still inundated with visa applications,” he adds.
Agility is key
While travellers confidence is an important element in travel recovery, says Vyas, resilience and agility in restarting operations also played a key role. He continues, “Keeping pace with the changes, our businesses have become even more customer-centric, resilient, and efficient right across our global network of 140+ countries. As a result, by December 2020, we were able to resume operations in 1,600 Visa Application Centres (more than half our global network), catering to over 50 client governments across 129 countries.” As of today, two thirds of the VFS Global application centre network is now up and running.
Traveller confidence
Vyas further emphasises that health considerations and prioritising safe travel have become key priorities. Shifting customer expectations have fuelled the emergence and acceptance of contactless and Do it Yourself (DIY) technologies. “We have noticed wider acceptance of digital services that enhance customer convenience by minimising physical contact. In line with this philosophy, we introduced services such as Digital Document Check (DDC) which enables customers to verify documents before visiting a visa application centre, thereby streamlining and shortening the in-person experience.”
Similarly, VFS Global’s Visa At Your Doorstep (VAYD) service provides customers an end-to-end visa submission facility at a location of their choice. The popular service can now be booked through WhatsApp in some markets.
The way forward
Vyas highlights the fact that innovation will remain the catalyst for change. Governments and other stakeholders continue to seek and develop new technologies that will enable a smoother international journey. “A partner with the right technological competence and value proposition will play an essential role in helping to accelerate governments’ adoption of outsourcing services and boosting cross-border mobility,” concludes Vyas.