`We will not back down` – tourism industry

Source: Tourism Update, 01/10/2015

Tourism industry associations will not silence their call for the new
immigration regulations to be abolished, despite being accused of not
doing enough to market South Africa to overseas travellers by Minister
of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba.


Tourism associations, including TBCSA, SATSA, Asata, Barsa, Sacci, NAA
and Fedhasa, addressed members of the press at a media briefing on
October 1 to respond to comments made by the Minister on Twitter.


On September 27, Gigaba tweeted that opposition to the new visa
regulations had been based on "lies and cooked-up figures and surveys
that have no credibility whatsoever".


He went on to state: "I think our tourism sector has not been selling
South Africa as well as they should (sic). They should be selling the
country on the basis of what it offer travellers, not on the basis
that it`s easy for somebody to enter South Africa with a child,
unnoticed."


"We (the Department of Home Affairs) never said the [tourist] numbers
would not drop. We expected numbers to drop as tourists comply and
familiarise themselves with the regulations," he tweeted. "We are not
just a small country. Our security and stability matter, not just for
the country but also for the region – which is why we met
Lesotho.


The TBCSA said the Minister`s comments were particularly concerning in
light of the fact that an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) process,
chaired by the Deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was currently under
way.


David Frost, CEO of SATSA, said the members of the TBCSA had elected
to respect the IMC process and had remained silent while the Committee
deliberated on the issues relating to the new visa regulations.
However, the IMC had not been accorded the same level of respect by
the Department of Home Affairs. "They have taken to the press,
stakeholder workshops and social media to air their views and we`ve
reached the point where this relentless barrage of unsubstantiated
accusations cannot go unanswered," he said.


The TBCSA, on behalf of the tourism industry, continues to urge both
the Department of Home Affairs and Deputy President Ramaphosa to
abolish the legislation. "Overwhelming evidence from multiple reliable
sources points to the disastrous impact these draconian,
ill-thought-out requirements are having on the tourism industry,"
TBCSA chairman, Mavuso Msimang, said in a statement. "The economy has
already suffered devastating losses as a result and thousands of jobs
are on the line because if it."