South Africa Ready for All Inbound Guests

After being removed from the UK government’s red list, South Africa’s tourism minister stated that the country is “ready for all inbound guests.”

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, stated on Tuesday (14th December) that all 11 countries on the red list would be removed at 4 a.m. today (15th December).

When South Africa was placed on the red list last month, tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the introduction of hotel quarantine – rather than at-home quarantine – was a “major disincentive” for British tourists and occurred at a time when the country’s tourism industry was just beginning to recover.

“The Omicron variant is something we continue to take very seriously, and our scientists are closely monitoring its trajectory to contain the virus and ensure the appropriate robust safety measures are in place,” said Sisilu.

“South African borders remain open, and our government and tourism industry have been working extremely hard to implement safety regulations to ensure that we are ready for all inbound visitors.”

According to Sisilu: “We appreciate all the hard work and dedication of all our tourism stakeholders. Our lobbying efforts are yielding results and today we see the country has been removed from the red list. We hope to welcome British travellers again very soon.”