We need to act now to avert further losses in the tourism sector, writes Erik Venter.

Tourism is one of the few sectors of the economy to thrive in recent years. Its growth has provided a counterpoint to the decline of the mining, export and manufacturing sectors. Visitor numbers to South Africa are set to grow by nearly 15% year on year in 2016, according to Statistics SA.

It is a much-needed driver of transformation for several reasons: the nature of SA’s many diverse attractions means that tourism revenue is not concentrated in cosmopolitan centres. Unlike sectors that require imported goods, tourism benefits from a weak rand.

The tourism sector is also labour-intensive, so it creates jobs and enables skills transfer and transformation. Unlike other moribund sectors of the economy, tourism brings SA much needed foreign exchange, helping to drive the balance of payments as effectively as a strong export sector would.

That is precisely why the Department of Home Affairs’ newly implemented controls for immigration at OR Tambo International Airport demand immediate and urgent attention.

Home Affairs has introduced biometric identification for visitors arriving at the airport.

Combined with staffing changes and the requirement that minors entering the country carry unabridged birth certificates, it has triggered long delays and frustration.

This is lamentable: SA purports to promote itself as a tourist destination and the gateway to the continent.

SA has fertile, receptive markets in the northern hemisphere, Asia and in Africa.

It should capitalise on that with zeal.

Instead, the reward to people who flew 15 hours to get to SA is a four-hour wait while their passports are processed.

The regulations have affected thousands of passengers, many of whom have expressed disappointment and said they would not visit SA again.

Travel agents internationally are advising their clients against visiting SA because of the fiasco at immigration.

Just how much is that costing the country? We have no idea.

The DA says R75bn has already been lost due to it. Its estimate is based on World Tourism Organisation statistics.

We support no specific political party, but even if that sum is egregiously overstated, it represents a tragic lost opportunity for the country.

There appears to be broad commitment to attend to this matter: A meeting on November 4 included the ministers of tourism and finance, and the Department of Home Affairs.

Efforts are being made to placate those who are being delayed. But more is needed than snacks, drinks and entertainment for exhausted and exasperated visitors eager to spend euros, yen and other much needed forex in SA.

Although placatory measures are likely to be welcomed, they are unlikely to remove the bitter first taste that many visitors will have, especially when many hundreds miss their connecting flights due to avoidable delays. A snack and a song are, at this stage, merely a Band-Aid for the blunt trauma being inflicted on the tourism sector.

Inconvenience

SA could scarcely be a better destination. And naturally, the darker, colder northern hemisphere winter helps to drive to our shores visitors hungry for sun, hospitality and a friendly exchange rate.

That said, we must not imagine for a moment that those visitors are without choice. Imposing upon them unnecessary, avoidable inconvenience simply encourages them to consider those choices.

There is no doubt that child-trafficking is a vile scourge that must be rooted out.

The government has shown a clear will to do that, but a sharper focus is needed, and that can be achieved without compromising security. Trafficking occurs at SA’s porous land borders; no incidents have been reported at airports.

Following the initial difficulties with unabridged birth certificates, it was announced that the requirements would be changed. This has led some stakeholders to assume that unabridged birth certificates are no longer required; to our knowledge those requirements remain in place. The facts must be spelled out to avoid further frustration and alienation.

Obviously, any sovereign state needs border controls, but visitors to and within SA deserve the best possible customer experience the country can offer.

The tourism sector simply cannot allow visitors to be inconvenienced by being denied boarding flights, or needing to be reaccommodated, or being denied entry despite being assured that they had the right documentation. It has been estimated that a job in SA is created for every six visitors: at some stage, we are likely to get an idea of how many jobs this has cost our country.

We need to act now to avert further losses. Penalising thousands of visitors and hamstringing an entire economic sector is simply ill-advised.

The festive season will prove critical: SA will be judged by its commitment to take care of a completely surmountable but crucial challenge.