International Tourists remain concerned about Security in Africa [Part 4 of 5] | Voice of America - English
The Africa Travel Association says the time is ripe for the continent to establish itself as the world?s premiere tourist destination. The ATA, based in New York, has for decades promoted Africa and its numerous attractions. But a number of research studies show most international tourists continue to shy away from visiting African countries because they don?t think they?ll be safe there.
Withall eyes on South Africa as it builds towards its historic hosting of theSoccer World Cup in 2010, reports are rife in the international media warningpotential visitors about the country?s high crime rate. In major global publications, journalists write articlesto the effect that every day more than 300 murders and violent attacks happenin South Africa. They constantly label it as ?one of the three most dangerouscountries on earth,? along with Iraq - where forces of that country and the UnitedStates are battling Islamic militants - and Colombia, where there?s conflict between state forces, anti-governmentinsurgent groups and illegal paramilitaries funded by the cocaine trade. GertOosthuizen, South Africa?s deputy sports minister, acknowledges that, like mostdeveloping countries, his homeland has a ?crime challenge.? However, he saysit?s ?ridiculous? to equate South Africa with ?war zones,? emphasizing that hisgovernment and its security force have crime ?under control.? ButMaxwell Eliogu, a Ghanaian based in Washington, D.C., who manages a companythat promotes travel to Africa, says the daily reports of murder, rape andcarjacking originating from South Africa ?are not doing Africa any favors.? ?Theentire continent is being painted with the same brush? as a result of the crimesituation in South Africa, Eliogu says. ?Everyday we hear the stories of the terrible murders in South Africa, of the armedrobberies and rapes. We hear that the country is the murder capital of the world.When foreigners see these reports, they think the whole of Africa is full ofcrime, that all of Africa is dangerous. Because many of them consider Africa tobe one country.? According to statistics compiled by the UnitedNations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, SouthAfrica and Africa as a whole have lower rates of violent crime than some SouthAmerican countries. In Brazil, for example, about 55,000 people are murderedannually, while there are approximately 20,000 murders each year in SouthAfrica. But some parties concerned about crime in South Africa point out thatBrazil, home to an estimated 200 million people, is one of the most populouscountries in the world, whereas the African nation has a population of just 45million people. If the population factor is taken into account, securityexperts say, then South Africa has the second highest per capita murder rate inthe world, behind only Colombia. Yet the country?s tourism ministry maintains thatinternational travelers are flocking to South Africa in ?record numbers? toenjoy its beautiful beaches, famed wildlife and cultural diversity. Theministry says almost nine million foreigners visited last year, up from 8.4 million in 2006, andthat this number is expected to increase to 10 million visitors ahead of the 2010World Cup. ?SouthAfrica is undoubtedly the tourism hub of Africa at the moment,? says Brad Ford,who operates one of the United States? top travel companies. He adds that hisfirm?s trips to the country have ?skyrocketed? in recent times. Butdespite the optimism reflected in soaring visitor numbers, the World EconomicForum?s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index has ranked the countryextremely poorly in terms of safety and security of tourists: 123rd out of the 130 countries reviewed. In the ?reliability of police service?section, South Africa was placed at number 102 ? behind even Kenya andPakistan, countries noted for the corruption and inefficiency of their securityservices. Internationaltourism expert Peter Koblmiller, who?s also the editor of the German tourismmagazine Kaapstadt, told South Africa?s Weekend Argus newspaperthat touristswere not visiting South Africa because of the high crime rate and media reportsof attacks on international tourists in the country. Koblmiller also insists that many of the nine million foreigners registered bythe authorities as having visited the country last year were not internationaltourists, but rather people from neighboring countries who were seeking jobs ormaking short shopping trips. Alvin Kushner, chairman of the Cape Town Tour Operators Association, agreeswith Koblmiller?s views. He says many foreign tour groups are canceling visitsto South Africa because they fear criminal attacks. South African officials blame the media for ?exaggerating? crimelevels and for ?unfairly targeting? their country because of its high profilehosting of the Soccer World Cup. ?(It?s) notentirely correct to say (crime) is a South African or African problem; it?s aworldwide problem. In the city of New York there are no-go areas, and nobody?ssaying anything about that,? Oosthuizen comments. Lesde Villiers, the South African author of several guidebooks and a tourismconsultant based in the U.S. who encourages Americans to visit Africa, sayscrime is indeed a ?fact of life? in South Africa ? but no more so than in mostother parts of the globe. He?s convinced that it?s safe to visit?. if touriststake certain ?precautions.? ?Aslong as you go out there and you?re not going to be a babe in the woods and gointo a dark street at midnight, and expect not to be in danger, I think youwill have a safe trip,? de Villiers says. However, a recent spate of robberies of touristsin Johannesburg has done little to assuage international concerns ahead of theWorld Cup. Oosthuizen,though, maintains that crime rates have dropped since his government increasedpolice numbers. ?Nomatter what the truth is,? says Eliogu, ?South Africa?s image as one of theworst places in the world in terms of crime? is ?very damaging? to the entirecontinent. Membersof the global travel industry say post-election violence in Kenya, once one ofAfrica?s leading travel destinations, and also attacks on foreigners living inSouth Africa, severely damaged the image of Africa as a whole and resulted intourists canceling their visits to Africa. Tour operator BradFord says Americans especially are very nervous about traveling to countrieswhere there are even ?slight? security concerns or political ?instability.? But he declaresthat travelers of other nationalities seem more willing to throw caution to thewind. ?We?re finding thatCanadians really aren?t all that concerned about what?s happening in Kenya interms of violence or any kind of upset. They?re still traveling to Kenya andthey still insist on traveling to Kenya (and to Africa).? Fordsays many international travelers are paying less attention to media reportsabout instability in Africa, and are placing more emphasis on first-handexperience of local conditions at tourist destinations. ?Some of the reports that happen on the news, throughsome of the more popular international news organizations, may be a little bitdifferent from what you experience when you?re actually speaking with a localin the community that you travel to,? he says. Rina Paterno,owner of a New York-based travel agency, says the first question potentialclients still ask her when she suggests a holiday in Africa is, ?Is it safe She says she sets their minds at ease by tellingthem about her various trips to Africa and how safe she felt everywhere shewent on the continent. ?After speaking with people who?ve experiencedAfrica first-hand, the clients tend to ignore all the paranoia about securityin Africa,? Paterno says. Amadou Gallo Fall is a former leading basketball player inthe United States and is director of scouting for the Dallas Mavericks. In thiscapacity, the Senegalese native often accompanies some of America?s topbasketball players on tours of various African countries. Initially, he says,some of them are apprehensive and wonder whether it?s safe, but Fall reassuresthem by telling them that ?Africa is no more dangerous than any other place inthe world.? Hesays, ?My experience has been that every single person that has traveled therewith us has really had a good time and they all want to come back.?