South Africa has finally decided to reopen its borders to international tourists in October for the first time since its closure back in March. The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, officially announced the decision and mentioned that the country will ease restrictions on international travel gradually and cautiously and allow travel into and out of South Africa for business, leisure and other travel starting October 1, 2020.
Therefore, South Africa’s reopening will include both inbound and outbound tourism, and allow nationals to travel abroad and tourists to enter the country once again. South Africa was one of the countries hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and closed borders to visitors on March 27. After observing months of stringent lockdown measures, the country has successfully flattened the curve and has been reporting lowest number of new cases since May.
At present, the country has entered national lockdown alert ‘level one’ from Sunday, following a significant decrease in infections. It is currently recording an average of fewer than 2,000 coronavirus cases per day. Reopening the borders for both inbound and outbound tourism has been a major priority for the country as it welcomes around 17 million tourists per year and relies largely on the industry. President Ramaphosa also mentioned that South Africa is ready to open its doors to the world once again and invite travellers to enjoy the mountains, beaches, vibrant cities and wildlife game parks with safety and confidence.
However, it has also been mentioned that travel may be restricted to and from certain countries that are deemed high risk, with a list of such countries set to be announced in days to come. All international travellers will be required to present a COVID-19 free certificate no later than 72 hours within their date of arrival or quarantine on arrival. The country will open up three international airports- Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport and King Shaka International Airport as well as one port.
Tags: Coronavirus, Covid-19, South Africa, South African Tourism
