New regulations threaten jewellery industry

Source: – Tourism Update, 18/09/2015

The Chairman of the Jewellery Council of South Africa, Chris van
Rensburg, has expressed his concerns saying that many jewellery and
diamond companies, dealing specifically with tourists from China, will
close their doors, should the visa regulation not change.


The jewellery industry has been severely affected by the visa
regulations, the Chairman of the Jewellery Council of South Africa,
Chris van Rensburg, has warned.


According to van Rensburg, many jewellery and diamond companies,
dealing specifically with tourists from China, will close their doors
and employees will lose their jobs, should the regulations not
change.


The Jewellery Council of South Africa has indicated that since the
implementation of the regulations, one diamond company has experienced
a drop between 80 to 100 Chinese tourist groups and between 20 to 25
tourist groups per month.


Another diamond company, who has been in business for 35 years and who
mostly sells diamonds to Chinese tourists, has reported they may be
forced to close down. As a result, the company`s 15 suppliers, as well
as their employees, will be affected.


Chinese tourists make up a huge portion of the jewellery industry`s
clientele accounting for over 70% of polished diamond consumption, 40%
of luxury watches and a large percentage of finished jewellery
products, according to the Jewellery Council of South Africa.


Operating tour companies from China have informed diamond companies
that the reason for the drop in tourists is due to the complicated
process of applying for a visa and the inefficiency of the South
African visa application centres in Beijing and Shanghai.


Most tour operators have removed South Africa as a destination and are
rerouting their customers to Botswana and Namibia. The time and
resources it takes to apply for South African visiting tourist visa is
far too complicated, says the Jewellery Council of South
Africa.


The drop in Chinese tourism numbers in the last quarter of 2014
coincides with the introduction of the new visa regulations. The
Chinese market declined by 53.1% from 27 122 arrivals in 2013 to 12
715 in 2014 between October and December.


The Jewellery Council is working closely with David Frost, CEO of the
Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), in an attempt to
possibly overturning the visa regulations.