South African Tourism acting CEO Themba Khumalo on Monday said crime tops the list of factors that tourists have raised as a concern when choosing South Africa as a destination. Photo: Armand Hough
The South African tourism industry has been dealt a significant blow in its bid to attract millions of visitors as its road to recovery dithers following a fatal attack on a foreign tourist in Mpumalanga.
A German tourist was shot dead during the attempted hijacking by three suspects while travelling to Numbi Gate on the R538 in the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga on Monday afternoon.
The tourist was one of four travellers making their way to one of the country’s top tourism attractions in the province.
South Africa receives a large number of tourists from Germany and this is one of the ways in which our tourism sector has been able to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
South African Tourism acting CEO Themba Khumalo on Monday said crime tops the list of factors that tourists have raised as a concern when choosing South Africa as a destination.
Khumalo said this was the reason that, at a recent gathering of tourism industry leaders, the sector called for the security cluster to help them in bolstering tourism safety.
Last month, the industry expressed serious concern over the impact the high levels of crime have on the sector’s recovery plan, job creation and overall economic growth.
“South Africans are welcoming people and this criminal behaviour is inconsistent with our warm and welcoming spirit which is our innate way of life,” Khumalo said.
“The protection of all tourists is immensely important to us and therefore we continue to consult the South African Police Service and all related authorities in this regard.”
The industry has revised its annual target downwards, from 21 million to 15.6 million international tourist arrivals by 2030 after the Covid-19 pandemic shaved off at more than two years of activity.
A fatal incident such as this one is surely going to affect foreign tourists’ appetite to visit South Africa.
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) CEO, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, echoed Khumalo’s sentiment.
“Violence against tourists is equivalent to economic crimes such as stealing copper cables and gold, and something must be done urgently,” Tshivhengwa said.
The tourism industry teams will be meeting with representatives of the security cluster to discuss ways in which plans to ensure tourist safety was fast-tracked ahead of the very busy summer holiday season.
Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism are offering a reward of R50 000 for information that will lead to the successful prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has launched a manhunt for the suspects and urged anyone with any information that may assist in apprehending the perpetrators to immediately call the Crime Stop.
The police investigating the murder said the suspects instructed the four tourists to open the doors of their vehicle, but when the driver reportedly locked all the doors, one of the suspects shot him through the window and he died on the scene.
The suspects reportedly sped off in their vehicle without taking anything from the tourists.
The Federated Hospitality Association of SA (Fedhasa) national chair Rosemary Anderson said the industry now needed a dramatic, on-the-ground intervention involving all sectors to put an end to the scourge of crime.
“We simply cannot allow this to happen again,” Anderson said.
“We need a deep, sustainable and catalytic nationwide intervention to address the root cause of crime in our country. If Covid necessitated a state of emergency, then surely the pandemic of crime does too.”
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