Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu Plans to Welcome Tourists With Reassuring Safety Message at Airports

• The Department of Tourism has plans to ensure that tourists coming to South Africa feel safe this festive season
• The department wants to welcome tourists with a video message at airports talking about how safe the country is
• South Africans are not enthused by this idea because it is not dealing with the problem but sweeping it under the rug

JOHANNESBURG - The Minister of Tourism, Lindiwe Sisulu, is trying to save South Africa's scathed reputation following the murder of a 67-year-old German tourist.

Safety in South Africa became a hot topic globally after a tourist was shot dead during a botched hijacking near the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga in early October.

The murder of the German tourist placed the spotlight on the dangers of Kruger National Park's Numbi Gate, which is notoriously known as a dangerous area. The safety concerns prompted the Department of Tourism to brief Parliament on the National Tourism Safety Strategy, according to BusinessInsider.

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The strategy involves setting up Tourism Safety Awareness Programmes in collaboration with the police and provincial authorities. The programmes will give tips on how to stay safe.

The department will also collaborate with provinces to drive safety awareness safety sessions and campaigns to welcome tourists and let them know they are safe in South Africa. This message will also be shared with tourists on TV monitors when they arrive at airports.

According to BusinessTech, Sisulu recently told Parliament that the department would like to see the implementation of a tourist police sector to ensure tourists are kept safe in the country.

South Africans weigh in

@TshepiOk said:

"This needs no tender since our airports already have airport TVs."

@obakengsebina said:

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"Maybe it will light up the ORT airport."

@Famly_of_Sanity said:

"Instead of solving the problem, we'll just make a little video about it." Thank you, @GautengANC, for dealing with the crime rate and making SA safer for all."

@DurbansFinest26 said:

"So this is what it's come to. Showing a video in the arrivals hall that no one will take note of. Why don't you do your jobs and deal with the crime? Can you imagine who is going to get the tender to make that video....production companies loading quick quick‍♀️"

Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says German tourists are not deterred by murder

Briefly News previously reported that Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu noted that there were cancellations by German tourists who planned to vacation in South Africa. She was speaking at a media briefing following the murder of a German near the Kruger National Park.

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German tourist murder: SANParks expressed concerns about how the slaying of a tourist would affect travel

Sisulu said the government is "on top" of the situation. She said discussions around increasing hotel security for the safety of tourists are also being had. The minister said a few years ago tourists would allegedly be followed from Johannesburg airport and robbed along the way to their hotels, according to News24.

She said since the claims emerged, measures were put in place to ensure people are warned about the possibility of them being followed.

Source: Briefly News