Killing the golden goose

THE ARRIVALS hall of South Africa’s biggest airport is a sea of safari green. Visitors turn up at O.R. Tambo International dressed for the bush, with cameras slung and wallets bulging, ready to splash out on wine and adventure.

Times are good for the tourist trade. A record 10.3m visitors arrived in 2014; the sector hauled in $10.9 billion (see chart) and employed 645,000 people. It is a bright spot in an otherwise dismal economy; GDP growth has limped, at about 2% for the past two years and unemployment is at 35% and rising.

All this makes the South African government’s imposition of stringent new immigration laws rather baffling. Starting in June, just in time for school holidays, children under the age of 18 will have to carry an unabridged birth certificate, with parents’ names listed, when arriving and leaving. If only one parent is accompanying the child, then sworn affidavits from the other parent are required. A death certificate will also do. This is supposedly to stop child trafficking, but is far more heavy-handed than measures imposed elsewhere.

Another regulation, also coming into effect on June 1st, will force visitors from places needing advance visas to apply in person at a South African embassy or consulate in their home country; the job can no longer be done by post. In China and India, which are big, growing markets for South African tourism, this could mean flying to the nearest big city. Prospective visitors may decide not to bother.

The government has shown slight signs of wobbling; it has twice delayed the application of the new rules, and set up a team to discuss the issue. But a defiant Malusi Gigaba, the home affairs minister, is adamant that the rules will come into effect come what may. A group of 20 airlines serving South Africa, including Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Air France, declared the new visa regulations “a tourism, PR, economic and political disaster.” A leaked report by Grant Thornton, a consultancy, for the Tourism Business Council of South Africa said the policy could cost more than 100,000 jobs.

Diplomats from Asia and the Middle East say the rules will deter investment and tour companies are reporting cancellations. Even South Africa’s tourism minister has said the sector’s huge benefits could melt away. “We have to make it as easy as possible for a person to come to our country,” Derek Hanekom told a parliamentary committee. “People have choices.”

While South Africa makes life harder for visitors, nearby countries are doing the very opposite. For example, Zambia and Zimbabwe are testing a single joint visa, easing travel to Victoria Falls on their shared border. If the six-month experiment succeeds, other neighbouring countries are set to join. In contrast, a “uni-visa” system for the 15 countries of the Southern African Development Community, a bloc dominated by South Africa, is nowhere near to being ready, despite having been mooted in 1998. One big sticking point has been South Africa’s fear of a deluge of illegal immigrants. The government’s phobias appear to have clouded its vision.