‘Ready to welcome travellers’: Says Lindiwe Sisulu

Lindiwe Sisulu has embraced the recent changes in regulations, saying that it will be an immediate boost for tourism in the country.

Tourism Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu has welcomed the revised Covid-19 regulations on travel in South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the changes during his address to the nation on Tuesday, 22 March. 

SISULU WELCOMES LATEST TRAVEL REGULATIONS

Sisulu said they welcome the revised regulations as the department is looking forward to a brighter year for the country’s tourism sector recovery.

Sisulu said the revisions will immediately address some challenges that travellers and the tourism industry have expressed and will make South Africa more accessible and attractive.

“Doing away with the requirement of a PCR test for all arrivals reduces the added cost and administrative burden to travelling.

“Increasing the numbers of people attending outdoor indoor events is a major boost for leisure travel and the Business Events industry. We look forward to South Africa hosting many more physical meetings and conferences that can be held at a larger scale,” Sisulu said. 

The department said this comes at an opportune time, as its plans are well underway to host Africa’s Travel Indaba in May, one of the signature trade shows, after a two-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“South African borders are open and we are ready to welcome regional and international visitors. Our globally-benchmarked norms and standards are in place to ensure the safety of all citizens and visitors alike.

“Now is a great time to travel for business and leisure, come and explore our beautiful country, we stand ready to welcome travellers near and far.”

Lindiwe Sisulu

The latest regulations were also welcomed by the Tourism Business Council as well as other businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry.

HERE’S THE LATEST:

• Mask-wearing: Although no-one will be asked to wear a face-covering outdoors, they are still needed in public indoor settings – such as shops, malls, offices, or onboard public transport.
• Social distancing: In some indoor settings and mass gatherings, physical distancing will remain – but it has been reduced from 1.5 metres to one metre exactly.
• Funeral measures: Maximum limits of 200 people in attendance, night-vigils/after-tears also banned.
• Gatherings and stadium/arena limits: The gates are opening, but big venues will only be allowed to operate at 50% capacity. People will have to provide a negative COVID test or proof of vaccination. A maximum of 2 000 people will be allowed to gather at places that have no facilities to check these factors.
• Vaccination requirements: Venues for mass gatherings and selected indoor spaces will be given the power to only allow vaccinated citizens in. PCR tests for travel will also be dropped for the jabbed – but not for the unjabbed.

By: Nokwanda Ncwane

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