Four tourists were attacked in two separate incidents in Port Elizabeth within 48 hours, with a tourism expert saying crimes against visitors to the city needed to be addressed or the industry would suffer.
The attacks – one on Saturday in the Baakens Valley and the other early on Monday at a Walmer guesthouse – involved tourists from Switzerland and Germany.
In the Walmer incident, a Swiss woman was hit over the head with a crowbar.
The attack happened at the 17 on 5th Avenue Walmer Guesthouse across from the Time Square Shopping Centre in Heugh Road.
According to police, two women, aged 51 and 60, had stopped over in the city as part of their holiday in South Africa.
They were due to leave for Cape Town on Monday.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the women were woken up at about 3.40am by a noise at their chalet door.
“The light was on and they went to the door to see who was there,” she said.
“The women tried to push the door closed when they saw three men armed with knives and a crowbar outside, but they were overpowered.
“The men hit one of the women over the head with a crowbar.
“They threatened the women and grabbed their bags containing their passports, foreign currency and cellphones.”
Naidu said the crowbar was found outside, hanging over the perimeter fence.
“It appears that the suspects entered and exited the premises by scaling the perimeter wall,” she said.
The woman hit with a crowbar was treated by ambulance personnel on the scene and did not require further medical attention.
A staff member at the guesthouse declined to comment.
On Saturday, two German teenagers were robbed while hiking in the Settlers Park Nature Reserve in the Baakens Valley.
The boys, in their late teens, were robbed at about 5pm.
“The two were walking on the hiking trail when an unknown number of men armed with knives approached them,” Naidu said.
“They were forced to hand over their takkies, hiking bag and cellphones.
“The robbers then took one boy’s T-shirt off and tied their hands together with it and fled.”
The teenagers managed to free themselves shortly afterwards and seek help.
Naidu said the two had been in the city since August and were here for a year as part of a voluntary humanitarian programme with a private company.
“They are assisting with a humanitarian volunteer programme and staying in Port Elizabeth.”
She said the incident happened in the valley near Fordyce Road in Walmer.
Asked about measures to assist tourists who had been robbed, Naidu said tourist-related crimes were time-sensitive and prioritised.
“Due to tourism being a major industry in the Bay, tourist-related crimes are prioritised to a degree.
“This is due to several factors, the most obvious being that the detectives need to get all the information before [the visitors leave the city].
“Often, detectives experience serious problems trying to get hold of them once they leave the country.”
Naidu said regular meetings were held between police and other role-players in an attempt to curb tourist-related incidents.
Earlier in 2018, a report compiled by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism indicated that foreign direct spend totalled nearly R877m in 2016, while domestic spend brought more than R3.6bn into the metro.
Of this, accommodation establishments garnered more than R1.36bn.
The income generated through accommodation in 2017 totalled R1.4bn.
Tourism expert Peter Myles said crimes involving tourists would always have a negative impact.
“The problem is what do you do as an [accommodation] owner?
“You take all the precautions and do everything you can, but it still happens,” he said.
“It is cause for concern and a worrying trend if tourists are being targeted.
“It needs to be addressed – if it is not, the tourism industry will feel it.”
The latest tourist robberies come in the wake of several accommodation establishments in the Bay, as far as Addo, being robbed in recent months.
Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism CEO Glenton de Kock said: “Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism is disheartened by the unfortunate incidents that have occurred, as the safety of all citizens and tourists is of paramount importance.
“As a destination marketing organisation, we will continue to work closely with all safety and security forums as well as the police to limit incidents of a similar nature.
“Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism urges community co-operation, which will help to ensure speedy arrests of the culprits and reassure tourists.”
Tourists robbed in PE
Four tourists were attacked in two separate incidents in Port Elizabeth within 48 hours, with a tourism expert saying crimes against visitors to the city needed to be addressed or the industry would suffer.
The attacks – one on Saturday in the Baakens Valley and the other early on Monday at a Walmer guesthouse – involved tourists from Switzerland and Germany.
In the Walmer incident, a Swiss woman was hit over the head with a crowbar.
The attack happened at the 17 on 5th Avenue Walmer Guesthouse across from the Time Square Shopping Centre in Heugh Road.
According to police, two women, aged 51 and 60, had stopped over in the city as part of their holiday in South Africa.
They were due to leave for Cape Town on Monday.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the women were woken up at about 3.40am by a noise at their chalet door.
“The light was on and they went to the door to see who was there,” she said.
“The women tried to push the door closed when they saw three men armed with knives and a crowbar outside, but they were overpowered.
“The men hit one of the women over the head with a crowbar.
“They threatened the women and grabbed their bags containing their passports, foreign currency and cellphones.”
Naidu said the crowbar was found outside, hanging over the perimeter fence.
“It appears that the suspects entered and exited the premises by scaling the perimeter wall,” she said.
The woman hit with a crowbar was treated by ambulance personnel on the scene and did not require further medical attention.
A staff member at the guesthouse declined to comment.
On Saturday, two German teenagers were robbed while hiking in the Settlers Park Nature Reserve in the Baakens Valley.
The boys, in their late teens, were robbed at about 5pm.
“The two were walking on the hiking trail when an unknown number of men armed with knives approached them,” Naidu said.
“They were forced to hand over their takkies, hiking bag and cellphones.
“The robbers then took one boy’s T-shirt off and tied their hands together with it and fled.”
The teenagers managed to free themselves shortly afterwards and seek help.
Naidu said the two had been in the city since August and were here for a year as part of a voluntary humanitarian programme with a private company.
“They are assisting with a humanitarian volunteer programme and staying in Port Elizabeth.”
She said the incident happened in the valley near Fordyce Road in Walmer.
Asked about measures to assist tourists who had been robbed, Naidu said tourist-related crimes were time-sensitive and prioritised.
“Due to tourism being a major industry in the Bay, tourist-related crimes are prioritised to a degree.
“This is due to several factors, the most obvious being that the detectives need to get all the information before [the visitors leave the city].
“Often, detectives experience serious problems trying to get hold of them once they leave the country.”
Naidu said regular meetings were held between police and other role-players in an attempt to curb tourist-related incidents.
Earlier in 2018, a report compiled by Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism indicated that foreign direct spend totalled nearly R877m in 2016, while domestic spend brought more than R3.6bn into the metro.
Of this, accommodation establishments garnered more than R1.36bn.
The income generated through accommodation in 2017 totalled R1.4bn.
Tourism expert Peter Myles said crimes involving tourists would always have a negative impact.
“The problem is what do you do as an [accommodation] owner?
“You take all the precautions and do everything you can, but it still happens,” he said.
“It is cause for concern and a worrying trend if tourists are being targeted.
“It needs to be addressed – if it is not, the tourism industry will feel it.”
The latest tourist robberies come in the wake of several accommodation establishments in the Bay, as far as Addo, being robbed in recent months.
Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism CEO Glenton de Kock said: “Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism is disheartened by the unfortunate incidents that have occurred, as the safety of all citizens and tourists is of paramount importance.
“As a destination marketing organisation, we will continue to work closely with all safety and security forums as well as the police to limit incidents of a similar nature.
“Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism urges community co-operation, which will help to ensure speedy arrests of the culprits and reassure tourists.”
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