Government to overhaul visa regulations
Image: ELIZABETH SEJAKE / The Times
In a move that is aimed at increasing the number of tourists coming into the country, government is planning to overhaul its visa regulations.
The plan would ease up on visa regulations for minors travelling with single parents and guardians, says tourism minister Derek Hanekom.
The move hopes to see the increase in the number of tourists as has been the case in Angola and Russia. Hanekom said the country is one of the most visited family tourist destinations and as such should make it easy for families to come into the country.
“We saw the dramatic rise in tourism numbers following the visa waives for countries such as Angola and Russia but we’ve also felt the negative effect of the ill-considered imposition of visa requirements on visitors from New Zealand. We are in the process of relaxing regulations for minors travelling to South Africa to make it easier for young people, single parents and guardians travelling with children to visit South Africa,” said Hanekom to applause from tourist operators.
The easing of these regulations would benefit operators such as Lebo's Soweto Backpackers that won in the Service Excellence Backpacking and Hoteling category. Representative of the Lebo's Soweto Backpackers Lungile Gift said they want to bring people together and help improve diversity in the country.
“Basically, what we want to do is to break stereotypes and bring people together … We are trying to show the better sides of Soweto,” said Gift.
With 1.3 billion tourists worldwide, tourism is the fastest-growing industry, according to Hanekom.
“In South Africa, tourism has also outpaced other industries, contributing 9% to our gross domestic product.”
The biggest winners of the night were Limpopo-based Traditional African Homestays South Africa, which took home the gong of the I Do Tourism Award, which was given for the first time to an entity or person who is deemed to have made an overall contribution to tourism.