In countries with thriving tourism sectors, there is a simple compact between businesses and the state: you keep ‘em safe and we’ll keep ‘em spending. Everybody wins.
So, while it can be argued that the fake cops who hijacked and robbed a busload of tourists in Jo’burg last week did irreparable damage to the economy, it is perhaps more accurate to say the government is the real saboteur.
By allowing security to slip to a point where South Africa is virtually synonymous with violent crime, the state has not only allowed its own citizens to live in fear but it has also created a situation where crucial, job-creating industries like tourism are being put at risk.
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Media in key markets were full last week of stories about how a busload of elderly Dutch tourists was hijacked and robbed at gunpoint, apparently by people who had access to genuine police equipment.
South Africa’s tourism industry is still healthy but messages like this mean that at some point the country, which has a dire and growing need for tourist dollars and tourism-related jobs, will start losing out to places with less to offer. There are plenty of warm spots in the world with beautiful scenery, wildlife, good food and great wine. None compare with South Africa but it doesn’t matter how alive with possibilities you are if those possibilities include being shot in the face (there were two misfires in the Dutch bus hijacking).
Since moving to the UK four years ago (I must add that we relocated for work and not because of crime), we have spent a fortune travelling the length and breadth of this country. We have camped, barged, hotelled and bed and breakfasted. We’ve walked in the countryside, the mountains, on the beaches and in the cities, alone and in groups, in the day and at night. Never once have we even thought about whether we were safe or not.
Compare this with potential tourists to South Africa who are told by the UK Foreign Office: “Avoid isolated beaches and picnic spots. Don’t walk alone, especially in remote areas. Hikers should stick to popular trails. There have been violent attacks on hikers and tourists on Table Mountain. Take care in quieter areas of the Park, especially early in the morning or just before the Park closes.”
Its travel advice for South Africa starts off by saying that “there is a very high level of crime including rape and murder”. While it points out that the poor who live away from the key tourist areas are the biggest victims of violent crime (as if that makes it less of an issue), it goes on to list the following as some of the things that must be avoided: Cosatu’s marches, crowds, protests (which are widespread and occur at short notice) and student protests (“don’t attempt to cross protestor roadblocks as this could provoke a violent reaction”).
It also warns that crime is rife at airports and people get robbed at gunpoint when driving away, that driving standards are “variable” with many fatal accidents and that people drown in the sea because, it infers, of insufficient lifeguards.
I’m not suggesting for a second that the UK and the rest of Europe are short of social problems or that everything is hunky dory here. Far from it. But at least visitors are not bombarded with messages like that. People feel safe and, as a result, tourism is thriving.
