SA’s neighbours feel pinch of new regulations

THE tourism industries in
neighbouring countries
have started to feel the
impact of South African’s
new immigration regulations.
Emmanuel Fundira,
group ce Astoc Leisure
Group, says the negative
tourism arrival trends in
South Africa directly impact
Zimbabwe, as South Africa
acts as both a hub and
a feeder to the Southern
African region. According to
Emmanuel, consolidators
and wholesalers are already
raising concerns, which
immediately translate into
cancellations. “Leisure
travel is highly sensitive and
families have already opted
for other destinations.”
Mozambique too has
begun feeling the impact of
the new regulations, says
Blake Gray, director of
Connection in Mozambique.
“Of Connection’s
approximately 100 clients
who provide accommodation
in Mozambique, most that
I have spoken to over the
last month have suffered
at least one cancellation
due to the new immigration
regulations,” he says, adding
that the regulations are
standing in the way of a
much-needed tourism revival
for Mozambique following
the political tension the
country suffered last year.
Family travel from South
Africa to Lesotho has
started to decline as well.
Hillary Monson, owner of
Mafube Retreat, says she
has seen a number of
cancellations over the past
few weeks as travellers have
not managed to obtain the
unabridged birth certificate
for their children. She says
recently an Indian family was
refused entry to Lesotho
because they didn’t have the
unabridged birth certificate
for their seven-year-old son.
Ross Kennedy, ce of Africa
Albida Tourism, says only
a fraction of Zimbabwe’s
inbound tourism comes
from China, which is why
the impact on tourism from
China is negligible. He adds,
however, that India is a
growth market for Zimbabwe
and he expects arrivals from
India will be affected.
Ross also anticipates
family travel to Zimbabwe
will be affected. “South
Africa’s new family travel
regulations are yet another
very awkward and poorly
implemented regulation
that has caused negative
PR in global travel media.
I’m not aware of any
direct cancellations in our
business as yet, but am
hearing from one or two
colleagues that travellers
are asking questions.”
Michéll Fourie, Air
Namibia’s sales and
marketing manager for
South Africa, says travellers
from the East have avoided
travel to Namibia via
South Africa for the past
three years and prefer to
opt for flights via Lusaka.
“International feeder traffic
from the East on Kenya
Airways, Ethiopian and
Emirates all transit through
Zambia, connecting on to Air
Namibia to Namibia to avoid
the visa requirements they
would have encountered
transiting via Johannesburg.”
Aulden Harlech-Jones,
owner of the Cardboard
Box Travel Shop, says her
business has not seen a
downturn as a result of the
new regulations. “At this
stage, we’ve had absolutely
zero impact from South
Africa’s new visa policies.
There have been no
cancellations or reports from
clients of having trouble
when transiting through
South Africa. As we gear
up for our peak season,
demand is still very high
and it looks like being an
excellent year for tourism in
Namibia.”