Tourism may be the key to unlocking jobs in SA

The South African tourism sector in particular holds great potential in terms of job creation. However, industry heavyweights are looking to government to hold firm to its commitments to remove regulatory uncertainty in the system. The department of home affairs has recently eased unabridged birth certificate rules to make it easier for visitors from targeted tourism markets to visit SA, as well as other amendments to the visa regime, but the regulations remain confusing according to feedback from industry professionals. The tourism sector is facing a variety of challenges of which the visa story is just one. Rising fuel costs, water shortages in parts of the country and slow transformation rates in industry all contribute to a climate than can seem impossible to change, but the negative aspects are far outweighed by the positive potential that exists. SA’s unemployment rate increased to 27.2% in the second quarter of 2018 from 26.7% in the previous period. How can tourism put a den...