It’s been a long six months for South Africa since it closed its borders to tourists. Finally the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosathey has agreed to open the doors to international visitors on October 1 2020.
This means that both inbound and outbound tourism is back.
South Africa suffered severely at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic losing 15,992 lives to the virus. Stringent lockdown measures were put in place on March 27 and these have flattened the curves successfully.
The national lockdown alert is currently at level one following a significant decrease in infections. On average there are fewer than 2,000 daily coronavirus cases
Before lockdown, South Africa welcomed around 17 million tourists per year making tourism an important industry. The mountains, beaches, vibrant cities and wildlife game parks such as Kruger National Park are the most popular destinations.
The news of the October 1 reopening of borders will no doubt result in a collective sigh of relief as previously it was thought that the country might not open to international travellers until spring 2021. The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), had been lobbying for the government to reopen the country to international travellers as early as this month.
There may be some eceptions. it’s expected that the country will only let in visitors from countries with low infection rates. Those countries deemed high risk may be excluded. The list will be published soon.
Three international airports – Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport and King Shaka International Airport – will be opening as well as one port.
What are the entry requirements for South Africa?
Entry requirements into South Africa include a COVID-19 free certificate no later than 72 hours within the date of arrival or face quarantine on arrival.
There will also be screening for symptoms and visitors are equired to register with South Africa’s contact tracing app.