Tourism and crime in South Africa

Written by Malan Jacobs

Monday, 10 May 2010 11:11

20 April 2010 : Die Burger

Research about crime and tourism was conducted by Professors Sanette Ferreira and Ronnie Donaldson of the University of Stellenbosch. They interviewed 907 foreign tourists at the OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airport. Their findings were as follow:

- Most of the visitors stayed for two to three weeks.

- 6% became victims of crime (58 out of 907).

- Most of the respondents that became victims of crime said they will recommend the country (The same conclusion was reached with regard to people that were victims of crime during the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa).

- More than a third were concerned about their safety before they visited South Africa.

- Very few was concerned that they will be raped or murdered ; 33% was concerned that they will be robbed etc.

- Their perception about South Africa changed at the time they left the country.

- 62% of respondents were informed by their friends and families about the situation in South Africa.

- It was 51% of tourists’ first visit to South Africa.

By following some precautions, tourists can significantly reduce their chances to be a victim of crime in South Africa. Click here to read more.

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8 May 2010: Sapa-AFP : IOL : http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20100508195715826C570183

Of the 870 000 Britons who visited or lived in South Africa last year, only 139 needed consular assistance, against 5 500 in Spain and 2 000 in France.

(Above-mentioned must however include consideration of the fact that more British people visited Spain and France)

"In the first quarter of this year, there was not one incident of a German tourist travelling to South Africa that we know of that has become the victim of violent rime. There is no one," said Martin Schafer, spokesman for the embassy in Pretoria.

The French embassy said murders of tourists are so small that the mission doesn't even track them.

"In South Africa, 80 percent of the murders are between people who know each other, and more than 50 percent of those are committed under the influence of alcohol in a dispute that becomes more and more violent," said Gareth Newham of the Institute for Security Studies.

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7 May 2010: Daily Mail : IOL : http://www.ioltravel.co.za/article/view/5453973

In response to the survey, Lebo Mokhesi of South African Tourism, said: "South Africa has welcomed almost half a million British tourists every year for the last four years, including those attending sporting events such as the Lions tour and the IPL cricket tournament.

"These events all took place without any serious incidents being recorded, and while the World Cup is a much larger event, world-class security measures are in place to keep visitors, residents and teams safe."

Mokhesi continued: "Crimes against tourists are few and our work with Interpol and international police forces in preparation for the World Cup will help us to make sure that visitors have the chance to explore South Africa without incident."

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2010 World Cup Visitor Survey: 92% would recommend South Africa

Written by Malan Jacobs
Friday, 16 July 2010 13:34
Nine out of ten foreigners visiting South Africa for the purposes of the World Cup say that they would recommend South Africa to friends or family as a holiday destination, according to African Response's World Cup Visitor Survey. The survey included 722 tourists, interviewed in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria and investigated perceptions of the various elements of the South African experience, including roads, accommodation, stadia, policing and safety, amongst others. "Post World Cup press has been very positive about the success of the tournament and its implications for tourism and foreign investment. It is very pleasing to see our survey confirming this view," states Beatrice Kubheka, Managing Director of African Response. "African Response has been tracking the perceptions of readiness leading up to the 2010 World Cup since 2006 and witnessed doubt slowly becoming confidence the closer we got. But having 92% of visitors saying that they would recommend South Africa as a destination is more than we bargained for and is great news for our future." Those whose stay lasted between a week and two had a slightly higher tendency to recommend SA - at 94%. However, propensity to recommend SA to friends or family was as high as 92% amongst those tourists who were staying in the country for over a month. Asked if they themselves would return, an overwhelming 96% of visitors said there is a possibility that they would and the remainder (4%) said that they would prefer to visit somewhere they have never been before. Length of stay: A third of the World Cup visitors were staying in SA for more than a month, while 48% indicated they were would be here between 2 - 4 weeks. Only 13% were here for between 1 and 2 weeks and only 4% under a week. Stadiums get thumbs up Respondents were asked to rate a number of elements contributing to the overall experience they had in South Africa. Our stadia were undoubtedly rated the highest with 87% of respondents rating their perception and experience at the stadiums as "excellent" or "very good." Tourists interviewed in Joburg gave the highest rating at 91% - no doubt a result of the impressive Soccer City, while those interviewed in Durban and Cape Town gave the stadia 84% and 78% respectively. Of the tourists interviewed, 94% attended live matches at the stadiums. The majority of them (37%) attended more than 5 matches. Only 8% attended only one match with 54% attending between 2 and 4 matches live. "There was no significant different in stadia rating amongst those who had attended many games versus those who had attended only one," stated Kubheka. "This is good news as it means that a consistently high standard was maintained across the tournament." The guests identified public transport and nightlifeas the areas in most need of improvement. Public transport was rated excellent or good by only 54% of tourists, and nightlife by only 58%. The nightlife was least impressive in Durban, according to our guests. Joburg residents will be pleased to notice that tourists interviewed in the Jo'burg gave the highest ratings across almost all of the attributes mentioned, whereas Cape town impressed tourists on the perception of safety and Durban on their policing and security at the games. "This may be due to the fact that approximately 75% of the World Cup activity happened in and around Joburg, meaning visitors were more familiar with this city," states Kubheka. About the survey This survey was conducted using a face-to -face intercept method with 722 tourists who had travelled to South Africa for the purposes of the 2010 World Cup. Respondents were interviewed in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria between the dates of 11 June 2010 - 13 July 2010. About African Response African Response is the most empowered, black owned, black managed research agency in South Africa. Established in an equity relationship with Synovate we offer a full complement of research skills. African Response prides itself upon an exceptional ability to understand and interpret the needs of the South African black urban and rural consumer. We offer clients customised qualitative and quantitative research, innovative ideas and practical solutions. African Response's vision is to significantly improve clients' business performance and to achieve excellence through utilisation of the wide knowledge and experience of our partners. More information can be found at www.africanresponse.co.za. Source: BizCommunity
Last Updated on Monday, 11 June 2012 17:39

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J. Visser

Dear Malan, Thank you for a balanced, fair and positive website.The few times I visited the CESA website, I was always left uncomfortable by the way in which crime in South Africa was portrayed - it smacked of sensationalism and over-exaggeration (if not outright lies). I do...
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Sanah, UK

Dear Malan, I think that your site is really good. Having lived for many years in SA, I know that yes the crime is bad, but I congratulate you for making people aware of the facts. I do not think that you are naive or stupid and as for the person who prayed for something bad to...
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About

My name is Malan Jacobs, I'm 24 years old and a recent Stellenbosch University BComm graduate. I'm currently the Office Administrator for the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation, a NGO in Wynberg, Cape Town. I've started True Crime Expo SA in August 2006 as a response to a website, Crime Expo SA, which was closed down in December 2007. Crime Expo SA's aim was to harm the tourism industry through portraying a sensationalist view of SA's crime situation.

The website received 250 000 visitors during the past 7 years and is currently being reviewed. Click here for articles that were written about the website.

My vision for this site is

to stimulate balanced debate on the crime situation in South Africa.
to promote solutions to the crime problem such as neighbourhood watches and online anti-crime initiatives such as Shout SA
to provide a resource for people who do research on crime in South Africa.
to promote positive developments in South Africa without downplaying the graveness of South Africa's crime crisis.

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