Minister downplays effect of less harsh visa laws
SOUTH Africa’s tourism industry appears to have been resuscitated. Yesterday, Home Affairs revealed that the number of foreign arrivals to the country had increased over the festive season. The department recorded 2 003 509 foreign arrivals, compared with 1 850 339 for the same period the previous year – an increase of 131 211.
The increase in visitor numbers follows the October relaxing of visa requirements.
The tourism sector had prior to this raised concerns that the requirements – which, among other things, called for parents to provide unabridged birth certificates when travelling with their children – would have a negative outcome on the sector through a drop in travellers to South Africa.
But Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, when releasing the statistics, downplayed the impact of the relaxing of the requirements, saying the increase in traveller movements – and particularly foreign arrivals – proved that travellers were not discouraged from visiting the country, despite the stringent visa regulations.
Last year, the cabinet approved changes to the visa regulations that had sent tourism figures plummeting.
“With the visa regulations still intact and very few of them changed, we have seen a 7% increase and I think it speaks volumes and says that it is not the visa regulations that attract tourists to a country – it’s the beauty and other factors, and visa regulations only regulate the entry and exit of the travellers,” Gigaba said.
According to the statistics, a total of 5 390 856 travellers entered and exited through South African borders, 1 487 148 of them citizens and 3 903 708 foreign nationals.
Foreign minors travelling to South Africa amounted to 284 191.
Only 0.6 % of the minors who attempted to travel into the country were turned away for non-compliance.
Director for ports of entry Stephen van Neel said there were no human trafficking incidents.
Gigaba said the increased number of travellers to South Africa could also be attributed to the removal of the Ebola threat on the African continent.
Tourism Department spokesman Trevor Bloem said the department would not comment on the statistics until it had analysed the figures.
Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency spokesman Kholofelo Nkambule said a definite influx of tourists into the province had been noted over the festive season.
“We are still collating the figures and are unable for now to say how many of these are foreign or local tourists. What we can say is that most tourism resorts were fully booked.” – Additional reporting by Graeme Hosken
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