Hotel group Sun International says that the South African tourism industry will experience a significant knock after the commencement of the new VISA regulations which require biometric visas and the unabridged birth certificates of children.
The hotel group told EyeWitness News that they are expecting traffic from some markets to go down by 60 to 70 percent.
Chief Operating Officer Rob Collins says that certain markets will feel the effects of the new VISA regulations more than others and that these are most likely to be China, India and Russia.
Director of sales, marketing and revenue at Protea Hotels Danny Bryer says the combined impact of regulation around biometric visas, unabridged birth certificates and the lingering perceptions that the Ebola epidemic was prevalent on the entire continent, will place significant pressure on the tourism industry
“The new regulations are a reality and we now need to work together with government to create widespread awareness and clarity among travellers to ensure compliance,” he adds.
The new VISA regulations come into effect today, 1 June 2015.
