THE Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the concern expressed by the Minister of Tourism on the negative effects on tourism of the new visa regulations.
“Unfortunately concern is not enough,” said Ms Janine Myburgh, President of the Chamber. “We need action. We need to postpone the implementation of the visa regulation and the regulations requiring parents to carry unabridged birth certificates for their children.”
She said no other country had found it necessary to introduce these extreme measures and there were more efficient ways to cope with human trafficking and other concerns.
She said the problem was urgent because tourism packages were sold months in advance and unless these problems were attended to quickly travel agents would leave South Africa out of their brochures. “There are many other attractive destinations which have more reasonable visa requirements and it will be much easier for travel agents to sell those tour packages. It will cost our tourism industry billions of Rands.”
She said the flow of Chinese and Indian tourists had already dried up. “These were our biggest growth markets and we should be doing everything possible to smooth the way for genuine tourists.”
Chinese tourists have to apply in person to one of only two consular offices in that vast country so that biometric data could be collected. “Why don’t we do it at the airports as they arrive like every other country does?” she asked.
Ms Myburgh said that if “undesirables” wanted to enter South Africa all they had to do was walk across our land borders or bribe an official at the gate. “These regulations will not solve any problems but they will harm one of our most successful industries and an industry that, until now, has been growing steadily.”
Full Article: Cape Chamber of Commerce » Chamber Releases – New visa regulations, “Concern is not enough” – Dean
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