Minister calls for action on UBC rule

SA MINISTER of
Tourism, Derek
Hanekom, has spoken
out against South Africa’s
stringent immigration
regulations, saying the
delay in amendments is a
result of the requirements
needing to be changed on
a regulatory basis, and so
far no agreement had been
reached on what this should
involve. “Excessive rigidity is
not helpful,” he said.
The Minister said he
was working closely with
the Department of Home
Affairs but that changing
the requirement for the
Unabridged Birth Certificate
was currently causing
“untold difficulties”. He
was talking in Cape Town
earlier this month, during
the International Gay and
Lesbian Travel Association
(IGLTA) convention.
Travel agents say although
most clients have accepted
the new regulations, they
are still causing headaches.
Chantelle Brown,
senior product manager
of kulula holidays, says
the main issue with the
requirement is the ad
hoc implementation of
regulations at airports. She
says some clients will make
it on to a flight without
the necessary certificates
and only when they return,
the international check-in
clerks insist on seeing the
documentation.
Internationally there is
still a lot of confusion
regarding the requirement,
resulting in a number of
travellers having been
denied boarding, says
Rachael Penaluna, business
manager of Sure Corporate
Maritime Travel. “We had a
family of four stranded in
France because the airline
didn’t know what they
needed. Still!”
Although many clients
have the UBC, there are still
many who are experiencing
delays obtaining the
certificates and this has had
an impact on international
travel demand, says Monica
Horn, Harvey World Travel
product manager.
Sean Hough, ceo of
Pentravel, adds that there
is no way of measuring
on the sales side how
many families decided
not to travel due to the
high cost and associated
administration hassle. “We
hope government can find a
better solution as we need
to ensure that outbound
travel remains easy,
affordable and accessible
for families,” he says.