Talks on tourism red tape fail

140807. ape Town. Tourist are enjoying a sunny day on a flower covered Signall Hill. Picture Henk Kruger/Cape Argus

140807. ape Town. Tourist are enjoying a sunny day on a flower covered Signall Hill. Picture Henk Kruger/Cape Argus

Published Aug 11, 2014

Share

Cape Town - The Tourism Business Council has bemoaned the outcomes of a recent meeting between the ministers of Tourism and Home Affairs on the introduction of new immigration regulations for children and others travelling into and out of South Africa.

The council said last week that ministers Derek Hanekom (Tourism) and Malusi Gigaba (Home Affairs) had met on July 31 to discuss the impact of the new immigration regulations on the travel and tourism sector and to find other ways to cater for the security concerns of the country.

The new regulation affecting the movement of children under the age of 18 and the requirements for biometric data for travellers came into effect in May.

They include all children under the age of 18 exiting or entering South Africa carrying a copy of their unabridged birth certificates.

Also, visitors from countries that need visas on entry must make in-person visa applications at South African foreign missions for biometric visa processing prior to departure.

While acknowledging the meeting had facilitated discussions with the government on the practicalities of implementation, the council’s chief executive, Mmatsatsi Ramawela, expressed disappointment at the lack of change to the government’s stance on the two regulations which are of serious concern to the tourism trade.

The council represents bodies including the Association of Southern African Travel Agents, Southern Africa Tourism Services Association, the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa and Airline Association of Southern Africa. It says the new rules will add more red tape and administrative hurdles for inbound and outbound travellers.

This may result in increased costs, extended travel time and dent South Africa’s reputation as a preferred tourism destination internationally.

“We are hugely concerned that the new regulations will make South Africa considered to be inaccessible to an increased number of visitors. Already with the previous immigration regulations, there were difficulties in getting visa applications processed in some of our key source markets and we feel that the challenges will increase with the new onerous measures introduced by the Home Affairs Department,” said Ramawela.

However, she added that the council welcomed the piloting of the “trusted traveller programme” and the possible phasing out of the transit visa. But she warned the biometric system had its own flaws and may not be the right solution to replace the transit visa.

“Of course we are disappointed that the meeting did not yield the results we had hoped for. However, the ministers did highlight their commitment to addressing the practical barriers to the implementation through ongoing engagement, so we remain optimistic,” said Ramawela.

She said the council will be following up on its initial request to meet with Gigaba, in view of the minister’s commitment to further engage on the matter.

“With the support of the Department of Tourism, we look forward to meeting with Minister Gigaba to present our concerns and engage on the specific details of implementation.”

[email protected]

Cape Argus

Related Topics: