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As someone who travels abroad frequently, it surprises me how little-valued our South African passport is after more than two decades of democracy.
I understand how we got here, but I’m at a loss to explain why visa regulations haven’t changed.
Carrying one’s South African passport through passport control during apartheid was like running the gauntlet. South Africans were subject to international travel sanctions, with our own government getting no prizes for encouraging an international outlook on the world.
More than 24 years on, and the dread that fills many a South African traveller when they hear they need to secure a business or tourist visa to visit a destination remains. In fact, if anything, it’s worse than it’s ever been.
The annual Henley Passport Index ranks the South African passport as 50th on its list of 102 countries. Countries with similar issues to South Africa, like Brazil, Venezuela and Columbia, all outperform South Africa on the Henley Index, which ranks the power of passports according to the number of countries a passport holder can travel to visa-free.
South Africans need a Schengen visa to visit Europe. We need a visa to travel to the USA and Canada, to Australia and New Zealand, even to our Brics brothers – India and China. With two decades of democracy under our belt, surely it’s time to reevaluate this?
Much has been written about South Africa’s stringent entry requirements for international visitors, most notably that of the Unabridged Birth Certificate, which remains a key deterrent for inbound tourism to the country.
At the opposite end of the scale, you have a country like the Seychelles, which relies on tourism as the mainstay of its economy. It has had the foresight to adopt an open visa strategy, which means that nobody in the world needs a visa to visit the archipelago. Interestingly, it ranks 24th on Henley’s 2018 index.
And while you may think it a stretch to say that inbound tourism policy influences the decision by other governments to impose visas on South Africa, it must be said that some countries adopt visa policies on a quid-pro-quo basis.
So, if South Africa imposes visa restrictions, so too would they require South Africans to obtain a visa before visiting. Nigeria, for example, is a sad case in point.
All too often, governments see visas as a short-term opportunity to raise money for their fiscus without understanding the long-term positive benefits having a more open visa regime would have on their tax revenues and employment levels.
One thing is for certain, ease of access is a critical factor when someone is deciding where to travel to. When that “someone” is a family of four, adding upwards of R4000 for visas to the family travel budget is untenable. And, with a weakening rand, this could be far more.
Our economy needs small changes to start moving again. I see travel as that key. Travel opens the mind and appetite to see the world through a different lens.
I am, however, heartened by efforts across Africa to create a more open visa regime for travellers, and hope that the South African government will follow the lead of the likes of Rwanda, Namibia and Nigeria, and do the same.
Recent reports seem to suggest that they are, and that ease of travel to South Africa has become a major priority for the Departments of Home Affairs and Tourism. I trust that, with the good faith extended to the world’s travellers, that the same privilege will be accorded to South Africans seeking to travel the world.
After all, we can’t be a global village if it’s nigh impossible for us to knock on the doors of our neighbours. It’s been 24 years since we became a democracy. There should be no reason why we shouldn’t brandish our “Green Mamba” with pride.
• Andrew Stark is managing director of Flight Centre Travel Group Middle East and Africa
