South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on Monday denied reports that new visa regulations have stopped tourists from coming to the country.
“We wish to categorically state that these reports are baseless and inaccurate, stemming largely from exaggeration and distortion of facts,” the DHA said.
The DHA made the statement in response to press reports that international tourists, particularly those from the United Kingdom, were experiencing problems entering South Africa because of stringent immigration regulations.
FAMILIES DENIED
The Independent Newspaper in the UK reported last Monday that between 10 and 20 families per day are being denied boarding to South Africa at Heathrow Airport, during the pre-Christmas travel period, simply because they do not strictly meet the new draconian visa requirements.
“More travellers from the UK are coming to our shores.
Our data systems for recording arrivals and departures at ports of entry show a notable increase of three per cent for UK travellers to SA between November 1 and December 23, 2015,” the DHA statement said.
A total of 82,772 UK travellers had arrived in this period, compared to 79,998 for the same period in 2014, according to the DHA.
Also for children, South Africa experienced an increase in the number of arrivals for the period between November 1, 2015 and December 23, 2015, with 8,745 arrivals recorded, compared to 8,508 in November 1, 2014 to December 23, 2014 an increase of three percent, the DHA said.
The South African government welcomes tourists to the country as tourism stimulates economic activity, assisting SA in realising the aims of the National Development Plan, the DHA said.
Earlier reports said South Africa has not seen an increase in the number of in-bound tourists in the festive season because many tourists are barred by the visa regulations.
REVISED REGULATIONS
Under the revised regulations implemented in mid-2014, tourists wishing to visit South Africa have to apply in person for visas so that “biometric data can be reliably collected”.
On June 1, another new rule took effect, requiring children crossing the borders to be with unabridged birth certificates.
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) said that by the end of 2015, the number of lost foreign tourists due to the visa regulations is likely to hit 100, 000, with a loss of 9,300 jobs and the total net loss to the South African GDP of around 4.1 billion rand (Sh27 billion).
In October, the government promised to relax the visa regulations, but so far concessions to the regulations have not been implemented.
REPELLING TOURISTS
Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has released a statement saying the visa regulation is repelling tourists at a time when the country’s weaker rand should see tourism booming.
“The issue taking place in the UK is just an indication of South Africa’s ridiculous regulations.
It is an appalling way to behave when we should be doing everything to foster tourism,” the DA’s shadow minister of tourism James Vos said.
“With the rand so favourable we should be growing at double digits, but tourism out of the UK has basically been flat.”
He said the electronic visa system is the solution to the country’s current visa regulation catastrophe as it will facilitate easier access for tourists to South Africa.
“I will call on deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently escalate the roll-out of electronic visas to streamline tourist entry into our country.”
He added that if the government acted to relax the visa regulation as it promised in October, then festive season in-bound travel would have been seamless and booming.
STREAMLINING
In October, the government tasked an inter-ministerial committee, headed by Ramaphosa, to propose ways of streamlining the “unintended consequences” of the visa regulation on tourism.
The committee recommended that foreign minors should no longer need to have an unabridged birth certificate in order to travel to South Africa.
Only proof of original birth certificates would be required during the application process.
Mayihlome Tshwete, spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, said the implementation of the relaxed visa regulation is well on track and will come into effect in January 2016.