International trade left in the dark over new regulations Todays News - 09 Tue, Sep 2014 The South African government has not effectively communicated new travel regulations to the international travel industry. Speaking to Tourism Update, Jayson Westbury, Chief Executive of the Australian federation of Travel Agents (AFTA), said the association had received no official communication about SA’s new immigration regulations. These include the requirement that children under the age of 18 travel with unabridged birth certificates or the equivalent from their country of origin. Moreover, Westbury was only aware of these new regulations because members of the trade based in SA had informed him. “We as the industry association, have not been approached by the South African Tourism Department or anybody to articulate this to our constituency,” he said. He added that it should not be the responsibility of the private industry to communicate and explain a policy decision to the travel distribution system. Furthermore, Westbury said that based on the association’s engagements with its international counterparts, there has been a similar lack of communication in other markets. He said the World Travel Agents Association Alliance (WTAAA), which covers regions and countries including Europe, India, Canada, America, New Zealand and Brazil, had also received no formal communication. “That’s 75% of the travelling community of the world and the representative industry associations,” he emphasised. According to Westbury, the lack of communication was a good reason for the government to delay implementing the new regulations. “It takes a good government to realise that sometimes the best thing to do is pause,” said Westbury. “I highly recommend that the government institute a 12 month postponement while further consultation is undertaken.” Westbury warned that should the government carry on with implementation on October 1, the result would be severe damage to the South Africa’s reputation. He painted a picture of passengers being denied boarding and complaining that they were not informed of the new requirement. “Who is going to pay when these families are denied boarding?” he asked. Questioning the rationality behind the new regulations, Westbury argued that a passport was an internationally recognised document. “Globally, most countries have spent millions of dollars on passport technology,” said Westbury. He also pointed out that while the requirement is aimed at combating child trafficking, a system relying on a birth certificate as opposed to a passport was open to more fraud. He explained that the certificate is a piece of paper that lacks the security features a passport has. Westbury further argued that the new requirement shifts responsibility to the industry and that it is not plausible to expect airline check in staff to be able to verify underage passengers against documentation that was in a foreign language. As an alternative, Westbury suggested introducing a visa requirement for travellers under the age of 18. He said that while this too would frustrate travellers, it would be a more effective and efficient means to authenticate travellers under the age of 18. He pointed out that this would also allow government to authenticate a child’s birth certificate during the visa application process. Westbury argued that the new regulations were penalising the many to catch the few. “It is a bizarre decision that will have broad-reaching ramifications,” he said. He added that given the competitive nature of the tourism industry, families were likely to travel to other destinations instead of SA as a result. Finally, Westbury said that given the strides SA has made as a destination, it would be unfortunate to see the country lose momentum. Todays News Tessa Reed
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 13:46:23 +0000
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