International travel operators warn of massive drop in tourism numbers due to Gigaba visa regulations
20 Aug 2014
It is just 40 days to go until Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba's new visa regulations come into effect.
Early indications are that they will do significant damage to tourism numbers from South Africa's traditional and emerging markets.
I have this week received correspondence from concerned hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators from across the Western Cape.
They have received notice from their clients in several countries that they should brace themselves for a halt in business once the regulations come into effect on 1 October 2014.
Tour operators in South America have explained that their countries also have strict processes when travelling with children. Parents have to produce all the necessary documentation including birth certificates.
However, the cost of translating the birth certificate into English in these countries is just over R1 000.
In addition, it takes about two weeks in these countries to translate the documents.
This is a problem that will be faced by all non-speaking English markets.
This will hit us hard.
South America is an important emerging source market. In 2012, South Africa welcomed close to 80 000 tourists from Brazil, up from just over 32 000 in 2009.
Argentina is one of our fastest-growing markets. Between 2009 and 2012, tourist arrivals into South Africa from Argentina increased by 26.8%.
These laws also do not seem to speak to the trade agenda expressed by the South African government.
South African Airways continues to operate its Johannesburg-Beijing route, despite it running at a purported loss of R309 million a year. The SA government is keeping the route open to maintain the relationship with our biggest trading partner, China.
Yet, it is expected that Gigaba's visa regulations will cut Chinese travel to South Africa by 70%.
Reports suggest that Chinese travel agencies are already diverting clients away from South Africa and that key agencies have stopped marketing our destination.
This is a market which has shown a 55% growth in visitor numbers to South Africa since 2009.
It's also predicted that South Africa's international meetings economy will take a massive knock. Organisers avoid destinations which incur additional costs for delegates, such as for biometrics.
Industry has made it clear that Gigaba's new regulations will kill tourism, and with it, jobs and growth from the industry.
This is why I will be petitioning parliament to urgently intervene in suspending these regulations until such time as a Regulatory Impact Assessment has been completed and a plan put in place for their smooth implementation.
We have just 40 days left to stop these regulations from being implemented.
Statemetn issued by Alan Winde, Western Cape Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, August 20 2014
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