DROUGHT
Derek Hanekom blames Day Zero messaging for scaring off tourists
Bad messaging about a "cataclysmic" Day Zero in drought-hit Cape Town has contributed to the lower numbers of overseas tourists expected to visit SA in 2018, Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom said on Tuesday. He said in an interview that many tourists — especially from the UK, which is SA’s biggest single overseas source market — would have put off travelling to SA in 2018 because of the drought in Cape Town. Hanekom said discussions between the departments of tourism and home affairs were ongoing on ways to ease access of tourists to SA, including the recognition of the visas issued by visa-secure countries such as the UK, the US and Australia. The department was also working towards the introduction of e-visas, which Hanekom said would go a long way to addressing the logistical problems experienced by tourists. SA was in talks with the Chinese and Indian governments on reducing barriers hindering more tourists to SA. While the number of overseas tourists increased in the first four m...
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