South Africa will introduce electronic visas before the end of the financial year and will bring visa requirements for minors in line with international best practice, says Tourism Minister, Derek Hanekom.

Delivering his 2018/19 Tourism Budget Vote address in Parliament on Thursday, he said: “Discussions with my colleague, Minister Malusi Gigaba and the Department of Home Affairs have been most encouraging.  They informed us of their intention to introduce e-visas during this financial year. Meanwhile, they are working hard to have systems in place to recognise the Schengen visa and valid visas for the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia as sufficient for tourists to enter South Africa.  We have also agreed to bring the requirements for travelling minors in line with the practice in the USA, UK and other countries. This will go a long way to boost family travel and end the traumatic experience of travellers being turned away by airlines,” he said.

Hanekom said just over half of the department’s R2.2bn (€148.2m) budget for 2018/19 would go to SA Tourism to market South Africa. He called for the reinstatement of a direct flight from Mumbai to South Africa to kick-start a stagnating Indian market, normally one of South Africa’s top 10 source markets.

Overall, he said, tourism was outpacing other sectors, contributing 9% to South Africa’s GDP. Last year, 10.3m tourists visited the country and spent more than R75bn (€5b). Overseas arrivals grew 7.6% year-on-year.  The sector employed 1.6m people across the value chain.

He said investments worth R71bn (€4.8b) were made in tourism developments last year, accounting for more than 8% of total investment in South Africa.  He said the department had established a dedicated unit to promote investment. “We are assisting developers to package their projects and linking proposed developments with investors. Investment in tourism is expected to reach a staggering R112bn (€7.5b) by 2028”.

However, transformation of the industry was lagging behind. “The Tourism B-BBEE Charter Council’s report on the state of transformation indicates that less than 45% of enterprises in the accommodation, hospitality and travel sub-sectors have achieved the 30% target on ownership. Funding is a major challenge to new entrants and small businesses wanting to expand.” In response, the Department has partnered with the National Empowerment Fund to establish a Tourism Transformation Fund, which will help black investors and communities to invest capital in tourism projects. “Applications are now open and will remain open until August 31,” he said.

In the meantime, he said, the department was offering a wide range of training courses for tourism staff, including chefs, sommeliers, food safety assurers, tourist guides, adventure and cultural site guides. It was also providing language training in Mandarin and Russian.

Hanekom announced that the department’s destination development budget would largely focus on rural tourist enterprises and on enhancing national parks, botanical gardens and World Heritage Sites.

• This year, the department would upgrade the Goukamma Nature Reserve on the Garden Route, providing work opportunities for unemployed youths and women from neighbouring communities.
• The Department has partnered with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to upgrade facilities at Midmar Dam and at Giant's Castle in the Drakensberg, which includes creating a mountain bike trail and installing universal access facilities at the Main Cave museum.
• In Limpopo, the department was collaborating with the Department of Environmental Affairs to build a new access gate into the Kruger National Park at Shangoni, which would spark economic and tourism development in surrounding communities.
• At the community-owned Metsi Matsho lodge in the Free State, small businesses from the local community were contracted to build accommodation and a conference centre. All profits from the operation will be used for community development.
• Facilities at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical gardens in Gauteng were upgraded in partnership with the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
• Themed picnic sites have been developed at Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind.