Pretoria - Tourism Minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk has welcomed announcements by UK Prime Minister David Cameron regarding that country's intention to review aspects of their visa system.
Although Cameron, in his first major speech on the topic to further mainstream tourism in the United Kingdom (UK), Government's policy and planning framework, on Thursday, did not commit to removing visa requirements for key source markets, he did indicate that "obstacles" to travel to the UK would be reviewed and that new technology would be deployed to streamline visa application processes.
Van Schalkwyk said the "onerous" UK visa system has increasingly become a frustration for South African travellers. "The time-consuming and complex administrative process of applying for UK visas has convinced many South Africans to avoid London and to use other European hubs," he said.
"It has simply become too expensive and too burdensome to travel via London when it is not your primary destination," he added. The minister said although the resistance to travel via London is still fairly contained, there is no question that the intense frustration will lead to more travellers over time choosing hubs other than London.
He also called on the UK Government to reconsider its contentious passenger departure tax on long haul outbound travellers. He said the tax has outraged South African outbound tourists, airlines and British and South African tourism stakeholders alike.
"This unilateral levy on departing passengers equates to a tax on tourism. Considering that it is levied in addition to visa costs, it adds significantly to the cost of travel for South Africans to the UK. But more importantly, it also adds significantly to the cost of outbound travel from the UK to long haul destinations such as South Africa".
