SA's tourism sector says it is devastated by the fatal shooting of a German visitor and attempted robbery of his fellow travellers in Mpumalanga on Monday during an attempted hijacking of their vehicle.
The tourist was one of four travellers making their way to one of the country’s top tourism attractions.
“We call on law enforcement agencies to find the perpetrators of this violent crime as soon as possible,” SA Tourism and the Tourism Business Council of SA said in a joint statement.
“Violence against tourists is equivalent to economic crimes such as stealing copper cables and gold, and something must be done urgently,” CEO of the Tourism Business Council Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said.
“Our teams will meet with our colleagues in the security cluster to discuss ways in which plans to ensure tourist safety are fast-tracked ahead of our very busy summer holiday season. It is important that we make sure visitors to our country feel safe to enjoy our wide variety of tourism experiences and establishments.”
SA Tourism acting CEO Themba Khumalo said the country receives a large number of tourists from Germany and this is one of the ways in which the tourism sector has been able to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a sector, we are aware that crime tops the list of factors that tourists have raised as a concern when choosing SA as a destination. It was with this in mind that at a recent gathering of tourism industry leaders the sector called for the security cluster to help us in bolstering tourism safety and acting fast against acts of criminality that affect the sector’s potential. The protection of all tourists is immensely important to us.”
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'Prioritise tourists' safety': Gun crime against German visitors shocks industry
Image: PAUL FLEET/123RF
SA's tourism sector says it is devastated by the fatal shooting of a German visitor and attempted robbery of his fellow travellers in Mpumalanga on Monday during an attempted hijacking of their vehicle.
The tourist was one of four travellers making their way to one of the country’s top tourism attractions.
“We call on law enforcement agencies to find the perpetrators of this violent crime as soon as possible,” SA Tourism and the Tourism Business Council of SA said in a joint statement.
“Violence against tourists is equivalent to economic crimes such as stealing copper cables and gold, and something must be done urgently,” CEO of the Tourism Business Council Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said.
“Our teams will meet with our colleagues in the security cluster to discuss ways in which plans to ensure tourist safety are fast-tracked ahead of our very busy summer holiday season. It is important that we make sure visitors to our country feel safe to enjoy our wide variety of tourism experiences and establishments.”
SA Tourism acting CEO Themba Khumalo said the country receives a large number of tourists from Germany and this is one of the ways in which the tourism sector has been able to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a sector, we are aware that crime tops the list of factors that tourists have raised as a concern when choosing SA as a destination. It was with this in mind that at a recent gathering of tourism industry leaders the sector called for the security cluster to help us in bolstering tourism safety and acting fast against acts of criminality that affect the sector’s potential. The protection of all tourists is immensely important to us.”
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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