As highly anticipated summer season is fast approaching, tourism security plans are being boosted to ensure visitors enjoy South Africa without incident.
The Department of Tourism has budgeted about R174.5 million to train more than 2 200 tourism monitors who will be deployed across the country. The monitors are expected to be deployed at top tourist attractions and national parks that are often targeted by opportunists.
In the Western Cape, crime hotspots have been identified, including ATMs, Signal Hill, Long Street, Bo-Kaap, Greenmarket Square and Hout Bay Harbour.
“The key objectives (are) to enhance tourism safety awareness at key tourism attractions and sites, upskilling of unemployed youth and reducing tourist vulnerabilities.
The key responsibilities of the appointed tourism monitors include patrolling within the identified attractions and site/areas, raising tourism awareness and provide information to tourists and report any crime incidents to SAPS and other relevant enforcement agencies.
The tender has gone out for the training of more than 2 200 tourism monitors,” said Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille.
She briefed the media on Tuesday in Sea Point following the second National Tourism Safety Forum meeting that included all tourism MECs, police, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and other tourism sector bodies.
This also comes as the latest data from Statistics SA (Stats SA) found that the first half of 2023 recorded more than four million tourist arrivals, a significant increase from the 2.3 million tourist arrivals between January and June last year.
De Lille said that while the latest statistics from Stats SA revealed an upward trend in tourist arrivals, issues of safety were an obstacle in converting would-be tourists to visitors to our country.
“The tourism monitors will be deployed towards the end of October to early November 2023, just in time for the summer tourist season.
These young people will be equipped with an NQF3 certification and receive further training from the South African Police Service. In terms of the NPA, the NPA informed the Safety Forum that the president has accented to the legislation on the use of the use of audio and visual link to present evidence in court.”
She said this would entail the possibility of instituting virtual court proceedings, which would allow tourists to be part of the proceedings even if they had left the country before the conclusion of a case, and alternatively tourists could connect through audio-visual link at the South African missions in their countries of origin.
“Amendments have been made to the Criminal Procedure Act. The act has been amended to include section 51C, which incorporates a provision for witnesses to testify virtually.”
We also received an update from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on the CMore tracking device and how best this technology can be incorporated into the Secura app that has been set up by the Tourism Business Council of South Africa.
“The Secura App is already being used by tourists and aims to enhance the visitor experience and assist in many ways including roadside assistance and directing those who are lost. This initiative is being led by the private sector – the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA),” said De Lille.
The Secura app is expected to be launched at the operations centre in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
Cape Times