As tourist associations and marketing agencies grapple with perceptions of southern and East Africa as ‘unsafe’ destinations, Tourism Update readers have highlighted the crucial importance of tourist safety in travellers’ decision-making processes.
In our latest poll, 73% of respondents said tourist safety was a ‘strong deciding factor’ in travellers’ choice of destination. A significant proportion of readers (23%), highlighted that other positive aspects generally won out over safety concerns, while only 3% of respondents said tourist safety was not a factor at all.
In South Africa, tourist safety has been placed high on the agenda for both public- and private-sector stakeholders. Last year, the National Tourism Safety Strategy was implemented by the Department of Tourism, through which a National Tourism Safety Forum – comprising key government and private sector role-players – was established.
SATSA has also championed collaborative efforts to bolster tourism safety through initiatives such as the SECURA Traveller app and the Victim Support Checklist. Last week, the association held a webinar to brief the industry on the current state of traveller safety and the collective measures needed to bolster the confidence of tourists.
Is SA airport immigration up to scratch?
A well-known industry figure shared a video of a jam-packed immigration queue at the international arrivals hall at Cape Town International Airport on Sunday, prompting debate amongst inbound tourism stakeholders about the efficiency of South Africa’s immigration processes. See the video below.
Whilst some operators lamented the situation, others voiced their opinions that similar scenarios could be found at airports around the world.
“We are often so critical of our own airports but think nothing of a two-hour wait at Atlanta, Heathrow or Perth. Airports are airports and queues at immigration are the reality. It’s not an ‘African thing’, it’s global!” one operator commented.
We would love to hear your view on the efficiency of immigration procedures at South Africa’s airports.
Our poll question this week is:
