Cape Town – Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has welcomed the decision of the UK government to take South Africa off the red list.
This would allow travellers from the UK to come to South Africa and it follows engagements between the two governments for a while.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said last week, when he addressed the nation on the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, that he had held discussion with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about taking SA off the red list.
Sisulu said South Africa had more than 466 000 visitors from the UK in 2019, before Covid-19 hit the country.
With the easing of the restrictions the SA’s tourism industry would welcome more visitors, said Sisulu.
The UK is set take SA off the red list on Monday.
“We are delighted to see the UK restrictions on travel to South Africa lifted, following a successful vaccine rollout in SA, and continued decline in new Covid-19 cases.
“We look forward to welcoming our British visitors in time for the South African summer season and we will continue to work tirelessly with all our national and international partners to ensure the success of South Africa’s tourism recovery,” said Sisulu.
The tourism sector is one of the industries severely affected by Covid-19 restrictions where a number of people lost their jobs, with companies shutting down as the borders were closed.
There have been travel restrictions since the start of Covid-19, but they have been lifted or adjusted in certain times.
Sisulu said the country is looking forward to welcoming foreign visitors.
Political Bureau