The Department of Tourism (DoT) recently gazetted its White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa 2024 – which proposes some massive interventions aimed at boosting tourism, including a specialised police unit for incidents involving tourists.
South Africa’s tourism industry is critical to the country’s economy. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism’s direct and indirect contribution to the country’s GDP was 8.2% in 2023.
In terms of job creation, according to WTTC statistics, South Africa’s tourism sector employed 1.46 million people in 2023 and the sector’s contribution is expected to grow to 1.7 million jobs in 2024.
“Despite its impressive contribution to the South African economy, the tourism sector lags behind relative to its potential,” said Minister Patricia de Lille at the conclusion of the Tourism Policy Review.
In response, the DoT looked to review the 1996 Tourism White Paper.
Stakeholder consultations were held across all nine provinces, involving local and national governments. A public comment period from September 1, 2023, received around 3,500 submissions, which were considered in refining the new Tourism White Paper.
According to the DoT the new Tourism White Paper focusses on “promoting safety and security; facilitating ease of access; domestic tourism; crises management; promoting transformation; enabling technological developments and recommits to the responsible tourism agenda.”
One of the provisions in the White Paper that has garnered some debate is relating to safety and security management.
The rise in robberies, kidnappings and murders of foreign visitors in recent years has cast a sombre shadow over South Africa’s tourism sector.
“South Africa’s image has been negatively impacted by crime involving tourists and high crime levels reported in the destination broadly,” read the White Paper.
“Crime-related concerns negatively impact international tourists’ desire to visit South Africa and are a deterrent against self-drive domestic tourists.
“Current responses do not provide for the prompt resolution of crimes against tourists and make insufficient use of technology solutions for increased effectiveness, particularly for high tourist areas and supporting visitors travelling in groups,” it added.
The White Paper emphasises collaboration among organisations, including law enforcement, to enhance tourist safety by reducing crime and providing visitor information.
The sector has partnered with the South African Police Service to develop a Tourism Safety Strategy and a Monitors’ Programme, involving over 2,000 trained youth who patrol and report incidents at key tourist sites for just under R174 million.
The Department of Tourism (DoT) believes more action is needed and, after a long stakeholder engagement process, proposes the following:
- Intelligence-Based Tourist Safety Programme: Create a national, research-driven safety program with stakeholder collaboration and community awareness of tourism’s value.
- Active Alignment: Tackle crimes affecting tourists in high-traffic areas through joint efforts of stakeholders, law enforcement, the justice system, private security, and technology.
- Dedicated Tourism Safety Support: Work with law enforcement to investigate the establishment of a specialised police unit focused on preventing and swiftly resolving incidents involving tourists.
- Hygiene Considerations: Integrate hygiene into the tourism safety and security program in collaboration with relevant authorities.
Looking specifically at the specialised police unit for tourists, the DoT said that this initiative promises to bolster the safety of both international and domestic tourists while simultaneously addressing the pressing issue of unemployment.
However, some critics have argued that these attempts at dedicated tourism police units are futile if the inefficiencies in law enforcement are not addressed and that “tourists should not get precedence” when it comes to safety.
“Tourists in South Africa will never be safe, no matter how many of these ‘tourist cops’ we put on the streets until South Africans are safe. How are ordinary South Africans… supposed to feel about yet another specialised unit for special people — tourists?” wrote Justice Malala in the Financial Mail.
“It is cynical in the extreme to even suggest this [and] shows you what this government is about: it is an elite project. Instead of saying I will protect and nurture the young men and women in Khayelitsha, our government thinks it is better to protect tourists.
“Fix law enforcement for everybody,” added Malala.
That’s not what we said
However, de Lille strongly refutes this characterisation.
In an interview with Moneyweb@Midday with Jeremy Maggs, de Lille said that “in no way does the Tourism White Paper say that the safety of tourists needs to be regarded more than the safety of all residents.”
“I’m on the record, and I’ve said many times that the safety and security is the mandate of the police to ensure that all South Africans are safe, including our visitors.”
De Lille acknowledged the perception that South Africa is not safe for potential tourists. To address this, the department invested R174 million last year and employed 2,300 tourism monitors, collaborating with the private sector.
She said that they developed a plan shared with all embassies and consulates in South Africa, as well as missions abroad which aims to reassure potential tourists, “yes, come; this is the safety plan that has been put in place because we want people, including South Africans, to feel safe in our own country.”
The Tourism Minister said that further investigations and consultations are needed, including engagement with the Minister of Police.
“The proposal that came from one of the people who interacted during the public participation was to say investigate the establishment of a specialised police unit, and that’s exactly what I will be doing,” said de Lille.
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