Johannesburg - South Africa on Monday rolled out tough new visa
regulations requiring children travelling into the country to carry unabridged
birth certificates, a move that industry experts predict will badly damage the
tourism sector.
The revised regulations dictate that children of all nationals and
foreigners must be accompanied by unabridged birth certificates in addition to
their passports when entering or leaving the country.
The new regulations apply only to children travelling with one parent
and those arriving from visa-exempt countries.
Government says the measure is aimed at curbing international child
trafficking.
But the tourism industry, which contributes nine percent to the
country's GDP and employs around 1.5 million people, said the regulations were
too cumbersome and would drive tourists away from South Africa.
The chamber of commerce said airlines were "doing all they
can" to prepare travellers "but their efforts have been frustrated by
bureaucratic bungling."
Citing official ticketing data, the Southern African Tourism
Services Association (SATSA) said flight bookings to South Africa this June
plunged 20 percent compared to the same period last year, a fall blamed
partially on the new rules.
"Who is going to go to all this trouble to come on
holiday to South Africa?" asked David Frost, the head of SATSA.
"They would rather say let's go to New Zealand,
Mauritius or Puerto Rico, where they are more welcome."
Home Affairs spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said the
legislation had come into effect without major problems.
"For the most part it's going well, we haven't had any
issues out of the ordinary," Tswete said.
The tourism industry is considering taking legal action
against government for loss of business.
"We have been forced into a corner and we are large
sector and we will not sit quietly in a corner and watch our industry being
destroyed by heavy handed bureaucrats," Frost told AFP.
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