South Africa’s new visa rules led to drop in tourism: minister

South Africa’s tourism minister Derek Hanekom who made the announcement on Wednesday said a new approach may be needed.

He said that one of the findings of the Western Cape Government’s Red Tape Reduction Unit into the visa rules that have been implemented over the past year, was to potentially adopt similar processes for South Africa, especially for tourists from BRICS nations and other African countries.

The new rules were implemented as part of the South African government’s efforts to tighten visa regulations and address safety issues with regard to immigrants, Wang said.

The biometric data requirement is hard to comply with in a country as vast as China, in which there are only two South African consulates, in Shanghai and Beijing.

He said that it was worrying to see that South Africa was closing its doors to tourism, while many other countries in Africa and the rest of the world were opening up with the implementation of more streamlined systems such as e-visas, visas on arrival and biometrics on arrival.

Further new rules implemented in June require those travelling with children to carry the children’s full birth certificates in addition to their passports.

Cape Town – Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba should be asked why he is not taking heed of the private sector’s concerns regarding the decline in tourist numbers and the resulting outcry of the tourism industry, Beverley Schäfer, DA Western Cape spokesperson on economic opportunities, tourism and agriculture, said on Tuesday.

Winde argued that if these regulations are not amended, South Africa will no longer be a popular family travel destination.

The Department of Home Affairs has maintained that the regulations will remain in place, despite the outcry.

South Africa is conducting an internal review of its regulations regarding visas for Taiwanese and assessing the impact on revenues from tourism, Wang added.