The tourism industry isn’t bubbling along, it’s “spluttering along”, says Rob Collins, Chief Operating Officer of Sun International.

Collins was speaking on a panel at SANParks Investment Summit this week. He was responding to a question by facilitator, John Robbie, who asked if Grant Thornton Deputy CEO and leader for Travel, Tourism and Leisure Gillian Saunders’ assessment that South Africa’s tourism industry was bubbling along was accurate. Saunders suggested that, given the potential of the sector, growth in arrivals over the past few years is below what the sector should be seeing.

Collins painted a dire picture of a sector that lacked cohesion. He called out government departments that operated in silos and also inhibited the industry with bureaucracy. “We roll out the red tape instead of rolling out the red carpet,” said Collins. “We know the potential of tourism, yet we score own goals.”

The sentiment was echoed by other private-sector members on the panel.

Pointedly, Collins said that after immigration regulations hurt arrivals to South Africa, the private sector spent two years trying to get a meeting with the Department of Home Affairs. “We still haven’t had the meeting.”

Blacky Komani, Executive Director of Tourvest Holdings, said that while Tourvest, which employs over 2 400 people, was able to meet with the department, announcements made after the meeting contradicted what was said in the meeting. He described it as an “educational process”.

Hannelie Du Toit, Satsa Chief Operating Officer, said that while the sector had seen a really good first quarter, many challenges persisted. She highlighted the lengthy processing time of wheel operator permits under new transport regulating authority, immigration regulations issues and uncertainty around VAT charges in the sector. “Red tape is the biggest challenge,” said Du Toit.

Komani warned that the VAT issues could kill small businesses, while Du Toit pointed out that a competitor destination like Australia had given tax benefits to tour operators.

In the hospitality sector, Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) CEO, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, also lamented red tape. For example, he said, hotel operators had about 40 pieces of legislation they needed to go through. He urged government to simplify the process. He added that, with cohesion and skills development, the sector could thrive.

Collins also said that government was not solely to blame. He argued that the industry could also do a better job of working collaboratively.

In order to pull the whole country’s efforts behind tourism, SA Tourism CEO, Sisa Ntshona, said tourism had to become “everyone’s business”. He said the organisation would launch a campaign at Indaba to drive this message.

Also speaking about “own goals”, Ntshona said that while South Africans should be honest about the country’s challenges, the country’s citizens needed to talk with a view of hope, instead of just “bad mouthing” the country. He added that he would soon travel to Australia to engage with expats with a view to turning them into “tourism ambassadors”.