Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism
Question by Hon Masipa.
In relation to the Red Tape Reduction Unit:
How is this unit supporting tourism businesses to ensure their compliance ahead of the summer tourism season?
The Red Tape Reduction Unit focusses on persistent regulatory barriers, including red tape and overzealous bureaucracy, facing the tourism industry and therefore does not provide support to businesses on general regulatory compliance matters. In line with this approach, the Department implements various advocacy and lobbying initiatives to support the tourism business environment. This includes lobbying the Department of Home Affairs on visitor visa reform as well as addressing systemic challenges in respect to the issuance of tourist transport operating licences.
In addition, it should be noted that except in the case of tourist guides, the Department does not regulate tourism businesses. In terms of tourist guides, the Department conducts regular inspections to ensure that illegal guiding is mitigated.
