Collin Thaver, Managing Director of Southern Africa 360, says the requirement that Robben Island Museum (RIM) is implementing now is a legal requirement from the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa). He says it’s expected of all ship-owners to have a register of passengers on board and a copy should be left with the harbor master.
“In my opinion the implementation and procedure could be less complicated, utilising technology to make it less time consuming. They need a name list and accurate count,” says Thaver.
Colin J. Fryer from Centre Stage Travel in Cape Town, commented on the initial article published by Tourism Update regarding the new requirements, mentioning that the new initiative by RIM could have stemmed from the review of the recent Thandi incident.
“It could also be a safety and security mandate to ensure that those who purchase a passage ticket are indeed the ones who are travelling,” adds Fryer.
Tourism Update requested the regulations announcement addressed to tourism stakeholders by Mava Dada, CEO of RIM, which was dated October 5.
In the brief, Dada says: “As part of our ongoing endeavour to provide our guests with the best possible service, and aligned to best practices and auditing requirements, we will be requiring all guests to produce a form of identification when they purchase a ticket and board a ferry when visiting the island.”
It seems much of the trade did not receive the announcement complaining about poor communication from RIM. Fryer said RIM appeared to be unaware of the need to communicate their workings to the public, to avoid the negative effect on a client’s overall experience.
Rushdi Harper, Owner of WOW Cape Town Tours, told Tourism Update that he was unaware of the new requirements at first. He found out about them through a guides group on Facebook. Thozama Jonas, Customer Relations Manager – Marketing and Tourism Department at RIM told Tourism Update that the new requirements were implemented on October 1 and confirmed that the new identification process was brought about by Samsa as a requirement.
