New visa rule in South Africa may hamper tourism

South Africa’s new visa policy may act as a deterrent to tourist inflow in the country where tourism is one of the strongest industries.

The new visa and immigration regulations issued six weeks ago by Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba states that for a visit to South Africa people will have to apply for visa’s at the country’s foreign mission which might prove to be negative in countries like China where people will have to get their visa approved from Beijing or Shanghai to plan a trip to South Africa. The new rule will require unabridged birth certificate for children.

These moves could throw a potential negative impact on tourism. Instead of trying to facilitate the process the South Africa government has made it more difficult for tourists.

 There is a lot of international competition and a constant pursuit of drawing potential tourists to other attractive destination where tourists will find easy access and facilities in such situations this could be a fatal move by the government feels South Africa Tourism Minister, Derek Hanekom.

South Africa receives 10 million tourists annually and there should be an attempt to increase that number rather than drop it. He felt that it was critically necessary to remove unnecessary bottlenecks and there are discussions being held in the Department of Home Affairs to rethink on the plan.


There has been a 200% growth in the tourism sector since 1990 when the GDP has only grown by 74%, therefore it is all the more vital to enhance the tourism sector that will benefit the economy and help meet larger growth targets.

Tourism’s direct contribution to GDP has risen from 2.8% ($8.33bn) in 2011 to 3% ($9.33bn) in 2012, though it could be as high as 9%-10% if the indirect contribution is taken into account.


The sector accounts for more than 610 000 jobs, or 4.6% of direct employment – or as much as 1.4-million if indirect employment is taken into account. A target of 225 000 new direct jobs by 2019 has been set.
  
Also a lot needs to be done to improve the infrastructure like building better roads and improving the tourist spots such as national parks. The tourism industry is trying to build a better base for the domestic market by increasing the number of tourists to 18 million in the next five years. Tourism marketing offices at five strategic places in Africa is the key focus of the South Africa tourism in by 2020.

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