In a bid to make Cape Town and the Western Cape a top destination during the pandemic the province wants a new visa introduced.
The Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier has written to national government to lobby for a “remote working visa” to boost much needed tourism to the region.
Manier wants to “allow international visitors to stay longer and work remotely while travelling in South Africa.”
The visa is a hybrid of a work and tourism travel document which will allow travellers to work online for their employer back home while travelling the country.
South Africa tourist numbers have plummeted because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Stats SA Tourism 2020 report showed that foreign arrivals dropped significantly by 71% from just over 15, 8million in 2019 to less than 5 million in 2020.
Manier strongly believes that introducing a remote working visa would help remedy the dismal situation. “It makes business sense...not only will it attract a significant number of long-term, financially independent travellers to South Africa during this period of economic uncertainty, and in the long term, but remote workers are also more likely to invite their family and friends to visit in the future.”
Premier Alan Winde supports the initiative and Manier has written to the ministers of home affairs, tourism and the deputy minister of finance to lobby for the green light to make this category of visas available to travellers.
Manier believes that a Remote Working Visa makes sense in South Africa. “Globally, many countries are competing to capture the market for the longer-stay tourist who can work online from anywhere in the world while earning and spending foreign currency in the country they are visiting.”
Around the world, 18 countries including Costa Rica, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Mexico, Spain and Portugal have introduced a similar visa. It’s called a digital nomad visa.