Cape Town – Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom says government will conduct a survey to assess the impact of the new immigration regulations on tourism.
The Minister also said he will continue to engage the tourism industry to discuss the unintended consequences that the regulations may have had on inbound tourism in a manner that will protect the growth of the sector while not compromising the security of the state.
The Minister said this when he, along with other Ministers in the security cluster, answered questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
“We will study the effects of these regulations very carefully.
“We have had information, that information was shared with Cabinet colleagues and they made the right decision that these unintended consequences should be properly studied, properly analysed so that we can still consider the best way of dealing with this situation which will not compromise the security of the state and which will allow us to continue to contribute towards the global efforts to combat child trafficking.
“We will be conducting a survey on the impact of the regulations,” he said.
New immigration regulations came into effect on 1 June 2015. Under the new laws, children need to carry an unabridged birth certificate when travelling in and out of the country.
An unabridged birth certificate is a document that contains the details of both the child’s parents, including their marital status and whether they are the biological parents.
The new regulations require that if an adult is travelling with a child, whether single, married or divorced, the person must present a passport as well as an unabridged certificate which reflects the details of the parent when entering or leaving South Africa.
After the regulations were introduced, the tourism sector expressed different views and concerns on the unintended consequences that the new regulations might have on inbound tourism.
The Cabinet meeting of June 10 noted the views expressed by various sectors and resolved to set up a team of Ministers from both the economic and security clusters.
Minister Hanekom on Wednesday told Parliament he will continue to engage the sector on the matter.
“I will continue my discussions with the industry … and the industry has repeatedly said it understands the mandate of the Department of Home Affairs. It has repeatedly said it does not support child trafficking and our engagement with the industry is a very constructive one.
“As the Minister of Tourism, my job is to do everything possible to ensure the continued growth of tourism for the benefit of all stakeholders.
“Tourism contributes one and a half million direct and indirect jobs considerably more than the mining sector. Tourism is indeed the new gold,” he said.
The Minister said South Africa should treat tourism as a national treasure which needs to be protected, nurtured and developed. – SAnews.gov.za
