ONE thing that can be said about Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba: when he takes a view, however misguided, he stands firm.
In the case of new visa regulations, SA is only just starting to count the cost in terms of lost tourist visits, particularly from fast-growing markets such as China and India.
It is not clear what problem Mr Gigaba was trying to fix when he introduced the regulations last year, but they have proved controversial. There has been blanket condemnation from the tourist industry, in particular of the demands for extra documentation for child travellers, and the requirement that tourists apply for visas in person.
President Jacob Zuma said in his state of the nation speech that the new regulations would be reviewed. But there has so far been no sign of such a review.
The minister agreed to delay implementation of the application-in-person requirement until June this year. And he promised to convene an industry task team to discuss the regulations.
But so far there has been no sign of one.
Meanwhile, the Southern African Tourism Services Association reports that the number of tourists from China fell nearly 50% in the last quarter of last year, with numbers from India down 15%, and from Brazil down 37%. Misguided anxiety about Ebola was a factor. But China’s burgeoning tourism industry has dropped SA from its marketing because of the "unfriendly" visa regulation — and that huge potential market, once lost, is unlikely to be regained.
All of this comes at a particularly bad time. Tourists respond quite rapidly to a weaker exchange rate, so the sector has the potential to boost export earnings which SA needs — but the visa regulations are having the opposite effect.
This comes too when new research from the World Travel and Tourism Council finds that SA’s tourism industry is expected to grow 3.4% this year, faster than the 2% forecast globally. The industry accounts for 1.5-million jobs — but the Council reckons it has the potential for 2-million jobs. Surely this is not the time to be standing in its way.
Malusi Gigaba. Picture: RUSSELL ROBERTS
ONE thing that can be said about Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba: when he takes a view, however misguided, he stands firm.
In the case of new visa regulations, SA is only just starting to count the cost in terms of lost tourist visits, particularly from fast-growing markets such as China and India.
It is not clear what problem Mr Gigaba was trying to fix when he introduced the regulations last year, but they have proved controversial. There has been blanket condemnation from the tourist industry, in particular of the demands for extra documentation for child travellers, and the requirement that tourists apply for visas in person.
President Jacob Zuma said in his state of the nation speech that the new regulations would be reviewed. But there has so far been no sign of such a review.
The minister agreed to delay implementation of the application-in-person requirement until June this year. And he promised to convene an industry task team to discuss the regulations.
But so far there has been no sign of one.
Meanwhile, the Southern African Tourism Services Association reports that the number of tourists from China fell nearly 50% in the last quarter of last year, with numbers from India down 15%, and from Brazil down 37%. Misguided anxiety about Ebola was a factor. But China’s burgeoning tourism industry has dropped SA from its marketing because of the "unfriendly" visa regulation — and that huge potential market, once lost, is unlikely to be regained.
All of this comes at a particularly bad time. Tourists respond quite rapidly to a weaker exchange rate, so the sector has the potential to boost export earnings which SA needs — but the visa regulations are having the opposite effect.
This comes too when new research from the World Travel and Tourism Council finds that SA’s tourism industry is expected to grow 3.4% this year, faster than the 2% forecast globally. The industry accounts for 1.5-million jobs — but the Council reckons it has the potential for 2-million jobs. Surely this is not the time to be standing in its way.
Post a comment