Sisulu also assured the tourists that her department will continue its efforts within government to ensure tourist safety in the area.
“Attacks on tourists is not a daily occurrence and SA is a safe destination,” Sisulu said, adding that tourism was at the heart of SA’s economic growth strategy, contributing 3.7% to the country’s GDP, more than agriculture, utilities and construction.
“The sector has the capacity to handle more than 14.8-million visitors by 2019 estimates. Tourism safety has been consistently identified across a number of studies, media and crime reports as a challenge which threatens tourism growth and, therefore, foreign direct investment, visitor spend and employment.”
Sisulu said it was not correct that South Africans were predisposed to crime.
“We are a peace-loving nation that ended one of the worst crimes in modern-day humanity, the apartheid system, peacefully,” Sisulu said.
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Incidents of crime directed at tourists and tourism products tarnish SA’s reputation and create a negative perception of SA — and this affects both the visitor experience and visitor numbers.
However, attacks on tourists is not a daily occurrence in the country and SA is a safe destination.
Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu made these comments on Wednesday after she met the German tourists who were attacked while making their way to a lodge near Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga on Monday. One of the party was killed.
Sisulu met the family members on Wednesday morning, before their departure to Germany, to express her condolences.
“I would like to again convey my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the tourist who was killed in this incident. I also call on law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators of the crime to book.”
The tourism ministry said the German tourists arrived in the country on September 20, landing at Cape Town International Airport.
They stayed in Cape Town for four nights and five days, then proceeded to Durban and stayed there for four days and three nights. From Durban, they travelled to Drakensberg and stayed there for two nights, and then on Monday drove more than 600km to Mpumalanga.
“During their interaction with the minister, while still traumatised, the tourists indicated that this was an isolated incident that could have happened to anyone and that all countries are dealing with some level of criminality,” the ministry said.
It said the tourists said they loved SA and the beauty of the country.
“The tourism industry has rallied around the family to give the assurance that all measures are being taken to prevent such an incident from happening again.
“The Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism has also issued a R50,000 reward to anyone who may come up with information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators,” Sisulu said.
