Tourist numbers to SA increase despite new visa laws
Data published on Monday by Statistics South Africa has shown an increase in foreign visitors to South Africa from 2014 to 2015.
This came despite concerns over the effects of more stringent visa laws, which were implemented last year may have on tourism numbers.
In June 2015, stricter visa regulations from the Department of Home Affairs took effect, with the new regulations requiring that foreigners who wanted to visit SA needed to apply for visas in person at South African embassies abroad.
The regulations also required that parents travelling in or out of South Africa with minors be in possession of an unabridged birth certificate.
Many believed the updated visa laws would put a strain on the tourism industry and the growing public concern eventually prompted the Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba to ease the laws in October last year.
While there were still worries about the effect the short-lived amended visa regulations may have had on the tourism sector, data from Stats SA showed a positive growth in the tourism industry, with more people visiting South Africa last year, compared to the year before.
According to Stats SA, from October 2014 to October 2015, the number of foreigners visiting South Africa grew by three%.
The majority of the tourists, outside of Africa, came from Europe, with the United Kingdom (UK) leading the pack.
However, Africans still formed the bulk of foreign travelers to SA, with 28.2% of African tourists having come from Zimbabwe.
However, the data also showed that the number of tourists from many African countries had decreased since 2014.
The new travel regulations and weakened rand have also not deterred South Africans from travelling abroad. Stats SA reported that from October 2014 there was a 1.5% increase in South Africans traveling outside the country.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation

















