Following instances of Ugandan tour operators being denied South African Visas, uproar rose on social media platforms about the hardships encountered in acquiring travel visas to South Africa.
In one of the Facebook posts, the executive director of Great Lakes Safaris, Amos Wekesa, condemned the continued denial of visas to Ugandans to travel to South Africa, irrespective of the travel frequency.
This was in quest for visas in order to attend the “Indaba” which happens to be the third largest tourism exhibition after ITB Berlin and World travel Market London.
Critics were majorly based on the $150 non-refundable application fee regardless of whether you are granted the visa or not and also the hash one year ban in case one over stayed just an extra hour in South Africa.
However, in his speech during Africa’s Travel Indaba event at the ICC Durban on Saturday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his government was working towards reducing the vast and often unnecessary bureaucratic and red tape tendencies that tourists, who want to visit South Africa, face.
He further remarked that, “If a tourist is held back by a lot of bureaucracy, they immediately give up and go to another destination. This clearly requires that we should streamline our tourist visa regimes and as South Africa we are committed to working towards the African Union’s goal of a visa free travel dispensation and a single African air transport market.”
The president also added that his country was in the process of fixing the visa exemption and introducing world class e-visa system.
At the same function, the South African tourism minister Derek Hanekom said he had met with a number of hosted buyers, sellers and media from more than 80 countries. Asked what would be a befitting welcome to the president, their message was recognition of tourism industry which sector has massive potential and to realize it, the visa dispensation should be overhauled.
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