The tourism industries in neighbouring countries have started to feel the impact of South African’s new immigration regulations.

Emmanuel Fundira, Group CE Astoc Leisure Group, says the negative tourism arrival trends in South Africa directly impact Zimbabwe, as South Africa acts as both a hub and a feeder to the Southern African region. According to Fundira, consolidators and wholesalers are already raising concerns, which immediately translate into cancellations. “Leisure travel is highly sensitive and families have already started choosing to opt for other destinations.”

Ross Kennedy, CE Africa Albida Tourism, says only a fraction of Zimbabwe’s inbound tourism comes from China, which is why the impact on tourism from China is negligible. He adds, however, that India is a growth market for Zimbabwe and he expects arrivals from India will be affected.

Kennedy also anticipates family travel to Zimbabwe will be affected. “South Africa’s new family travel regulations are yet another very awkward and poorly implemented regulation that has caused negative PR in world travel media. I’m not aware of any direct cancellations in our business as yet, but am hearing from one or two colleagues that travellers are asking questions.”

Mozambique has already started feeling the impact of the new regulations, says Blake Gray, director of Connection in Mozambique. “Of Connection's approximate 100 clients who provide accommodation in Mozambique, most that I have spoken to over the last month have suffered at least one cancellation due to the new immigration regulations,” he says, adding that the new regulations are standing in the way of a much-needed tourism revival for Mozambique following the political tension the country suffered last year.

Family travel from South Africa to Lesotho has started to decline as well. Hillary Monson, owner of Mafube Retreat, says she has seen a number of cancellations over the past few weeks as travellers have not managed to obtain the unabridged birth certificate for their children. She adds that recently, an Indian family was refused access into Lesotho because they didn’t have the unabridged birth certificate for their seven-year-old son.

Namibia, on the other hand, has not felt any impact of the new regulations yet. Aulden Harlech-Jones, owner of the Cardboard Box Travel Shop, says: “At this stage, we’ve had absolutely zero  impact from South Africa’s new visa policies.  There have been no cancellations or reports from clients of trouble when transiting through South Africa.  As we gear up for our peak season, demand is still very high and it looks like being an excellent year for tourism in Namibia.”

According to Michéll Fourie, Air Namibia’s Commercial Manager South Africa: Sales and Marketing, travellers from the East have been avoiding travel to Namibia via South Africa for the past three years already and prefer to opt for flights from Lusaka to Namibia. “International feeder traffic from the East on Kenya Airways, Ethiopian and Emirates all transit through Zambia connecting on to Air Namibia to Namibia to avoid the visa requirements they would have encountered transiting via Johannesburg.”