Johannesburg – South African Tourism Minister, Derek Hanekom, said on Wednesday that the new visa regulation adopted in the country, has led to a “worrying drop” in foreign visitors and a new approach might be needed.
Last year, South Africa implemented new rules requiring visitors to provide biometric data when applying for visas.
The new rules constituted problem for people in large countries like China, which only has South African consulates in Beijing and Shanghai.
Hanekon said there was urgent need to find a better way of going about the issue, saying that provision of biometric data was having negative impact on tourism and investment into the country.
He said the tourism sector had grown steadily since South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup and was now the third largest contributor to GDP.
However, Malusi Gigaba, Home Affairs Minister, said the new rules were to serve as necessary measure to curb human trafficking.
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Mmatsatsi Ramawela, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, said the time had come for government to review the policy to redress its negative impact on tourism and investment. (Reuters/NAN)
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