NEW border control regulations to be enforced by Home Affairs from June 1 could result in more than 100000 job losses and industry revenue losses of more than R2.4-billion.
This is according to a leaked report prepared by Grant Thornton for the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA)
It says new legislation requiring unabridged birth certificates and visa applications being made in person could have a devastating impact.
The tourism business council refused to comment as the report had been leaked.
Grant Thornton Johannesburg advisory services head Gillian Saunders said the organisation had compiled the report but it was up to the TBCSA to decide if it would be released publicly. While prevention of child trafficking is cited by Home Affairs as the reason for the birth certificate legislation, the leaked report says that children are mainly from within South Africa and not from across its borders.
The report also says that if children under 18 leaving the country need unabridged birth certificates, this could result in a loss to the South African airline industry of R672-million.
A representative from the Forum of Immigration Practitioners of South Africa says more than 20 regional and international airlines have submitted an appeal to Home Affairs, claiming that the new regulations could result in a national loss of billions of rands.
Interviews in the Grant Thornton report suggest that tourism from China, for example, where only two centres in the country would be authorised to grant visas, would drop by about 70% as travellers would not want to fly to another city just to apply for a visa. Various case studies presented at a provincial parliamentary committee meeting in Cape Town last week confirmed industry projections and fears.
Members heard that Trafalgar Tours in the UK had recently decided not to include South Africa as a destination in its marketing material for 2015.
The Leisure Hotel Group had also submitted a report that a comparison of total room revenue indicated an estimated decrease in revenue by R2.5-million could be suffered because of the new regulations.
Other industry players said ignorance around the Ebola virus had already started affecting the industry and the visa regulations could destroy it.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba was reported as saying last week that economic concerns had to be balanced against national security concerns. -Tanya Farber and Reitumetse Pitso