Tourism Update conducted an informal survey with service providers in the tourism industry to get a sense of how the problems with South Africa’s visa administration has impacted them. The survey showed the following:
The survey highlighted that prospective tourists faced significant delays in the issuing of visas, and that there was no communication with the clients with regards to when their visas may be issued. This led to tourists cancelling their trips due to the uncertainty. The writer can confirm that he received numerous calls and emails from tourists who had submitted evisa applications but had received no feedback and their travel dates were imminent.
The CEO of Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), David Frost, has noted that the tourism sector must demand better from the government:
“Government must be transparent, efficient and responsive to achieve lasting prosperity. The time for excuses is over and it is imperative that we see change to prevent further loss of tourism revenue and ensure that access into South Africa is made easier.”
He said the ongoing visa issue spoke of a troubling pattern of an administration not held accountable. “We face a situation where departments lack the ability to streamline processes and remove barriers that hinder our economy's growth. “The tourism industry must be part of the discussion as we have the knowledge and insight to do this better. Our long-haul competitor, Australia, does this effortlessly,”
Rosemary Anderson the Chairperson of hospitality association FEDHASA also added her voice:
“We need policies that encourage, not hinder, tourism and foreign investment. Streamlining visas and adopting digital nomad programmes would demonstrate South Africa is open for opportunity. The time has come for decisive action to reform restrictive bureaucracy and unleash our nation’s full potential.”
The most frustrating part of the present issue is that this is not a difficult problem to fix but the government appears to lack the willpower to attend to it.
