Air China cancels direct flights to SA due to draconian visa regulations
28 May 2015
Air China has allegedly cancelled the launch of its much-anticipated direct flights to South Africa due to South Africa’s new visa regulations which come into effect on 1 June 2015. This is the latest demonstration of the disastrous effects the new regulations will continue to have on tourism in South Africa.
Trudy Pietersen of Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) told Tourism Update yesterday the airline cancelled its slots for the season running from August 31 to October 23, which is the second time the carrier has delayed the launch of its direct service from Beijing to Johannesburg.
According to reports, Air China cited safety and security concerns following recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa as well as SA’s new onerous visa regulations as a deterrent, which, the airline feared, would impact on its revenue on the route. This is one of the negative consequences that was foreseeable from the get go, yet against all good advice the ANC government has relentlessly pursued these regulations.
China is one of South Africa’s largest tourism markets, but is steadily in decline. StatsSA's tourism figures for 2014 indicated that arrivals from China dropped 24.6% to just under 83 000. This is worrying as South African Tourism had reported a rise in Chinese tourists in previous years, with a 14.7% increase to reach 151 847 in 2013.
The real question is - where is Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom in all of this? Instead of protecting and promoting our job-creating tourism industry, Minister Hanekom simply voices his “concern”, without any tangible action to follow.
Minister Hanekom must account for this. I have today written to the Minister asking him the following:
To confirm this cancellation by Air China;
Whether he has a plan to turn this situation around and hold talks with the airline on possibly reviewing its decision; and
To list what actual, quantifiable steps he has taken to protect and promote the tourism industry in this entire visa regulations debacle.
The tourism industry is already under severe pressure. Minister Hanekom recently revealed that between 2012 and 2014, both domestic tourism numbers and revenue generated have declined. Domestic tourism numbers dropped from, 12.5 million to 9 million, and revenue generated fell from R 21.8 billion to R 18.5 billion
These regulations will only make the situation worse. According to the Board of Airline Representatives South Africa, the new regulations could cost the tourism sector over R6.8 billion and result in severe job cuts.
The tourism industry contributes 9% of our GDP and employs 1.5 million South Africans. Its growth and success is vital to growing our economy and creating jobs for the 36% of South Africans who cannot find work. In the absence of any real action by the ANC government, the DA will continue to fight for the tourism industry and the 1.5 million South Africans it employs.
Statement issued by James Vos MP, DA Shadow Minister of Tourism, May 28 2015
