South Africa's Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille said on Tuesday that the first group of tourists from China since 2020 is expected to arrive at the OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg on an Air China flight Wednesday.

南非旅游部长帕特里夏·德里尔周二表示，自2020年以来，第一批中国游客预计将于周三，乘坐中国航空公司的航班，抵达约翰内斯堡的OR坦博国际机场。

This flight marks a significant milestone as the first flight for group tour since the pandemic, which is of great importance to Chinese arrivals to South Africa, De Lille said at the media launch of the Africa Travel Indaba in Durban.

德里尔在德班举行的非洲旅游大会媒体发布会上说：“这是疫情以来首个团体旅游航班，具有重要的里程碑意义，南非对中国游客高度重视。”

China is the most promising source market for South Africa. Just before the pandemic, South Africa has received nearly 100,000 visitors from China. It is possible to push the number to 1,000,000 by 2030, she said.

“中国是南非最有前途的客源市场。疫情爆发前，南非接待了近10万中国游客。到2030年，这一数字可能达到100万。”

South Africa's tourism sector is recovering as it has welcomed 5.7 million tourists last year, 152 percent higher than the previous year, according to the minister, who expressed optimism that they would get more tourists from China.

据这位部长称，南非旅游业正在复苏，去年接待了570万游客，比前一年增长了152%，他乐观地表示，他们将从中国吸引更多游客。

The impact of Chinese tourists on the economy of South Africa will be positive and sustainable. For this reason, I will be working hard with our key stakeholders to remove key barriers such as airlift, visa and safety, De Lille said.

“中国游客对南非经济的影响将是积极和可持续的。出于这个原因，我们将努力与主要利益相关者合作，消除空运、签证和安全等关键障碍。”