Tourism bosses come out strong on Mexican study

LOCAL tourism and security bosses have hit out at reports based on a Mexican crime study  that said people were more likely to be murdered in Nelson Mandela Bay than in Johannesburg.

The chief executives of Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) Mandlakazi Skefile and Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) Sybert Liebenberg said the figures presented by Mexican research NGO Seguridad, Justicia y Paz were questionable and that the document did not focus on the tourism industry at all.

“It’s all about perception and managing perception,” said Skefile. “Even though these figures were not related to tourism but crime in general, potential visitors might now perceive Nelson Mandela Bay to be a dangerous destination for tourists – which it is not.

“The reason we are hitting back so strongly is because of the possible negative perceptions and impact on the tourism industry. We challenge the study’s facts – and we want to assure visitors, both domestic and international, that Nelson Mandela Bay remains a safe destination for visitors.

“This is not to say we don’t encourage people to take common sense precautions when traveling. Tourists can, unfortunately, be victims of crime and we advise that all visitors take care of personal belongings and do not put themselves in potentially dangerous situations.”

Liebenberg, echoed Skefile’s sentiments, and slammed the report’s veracity, saying it was likely a Mexican attempt to contextualize its crime within a global setting. He added he would question its methodology, data sources and analysis.

“These kind of stats have nothing to do with tourism and the data does not appear to be trustworthy,” said Liebenberg. “For example, the report compares murder in Afghanistan with the Northern Cape confusing death as a result of armed conflict with murder. It simply does not compare apples with apples.

“As a document it offers little or no value to the tourism industry. The fear however remains that wrongly quoted statistics can become common perception, which in turn becomes fact in some people’s eyes. We have to prevent that.”

Liebenberg and Skefile also both noted that if Nelson Mandela Bay were as dangerous as the study outlines, tourists would not be coming to the city.

“The huge influx of tourists over the summer season shows that tourists are voting with their feet and wallets and still come to Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and the Eastern Cape. In reality, if there was such a risk we would see a drastic decline in tourist numbers, which we are not. Unfortunately this is not the case for Mexico which is experiencing a decline in tourism due to violent crime,” Liebenberg added.

Dr Johan Burger from the Institute of Security Studies confirmed that 80% of murders in South Africa are committed by people who know one another and are often interpersonal attacks.

Skefile said Burger’s comments strengthened NMBT’s argument that there is low threat to tourists to Nelson Mandela Bay, adding that tourism nodes are generally well protected and policed. “During big events or high seasons, the city prepares for an influx of tourists, of which safety and security are major considerations,” said Skefile.

“During the World Cup and IRB Sevens World Series in Nelson Mandela Bay there were no serious incidents – an indication of the level of protection of tourists. Likewise the municipality this summer season reported low levels of crime, which illustrates that we are working with different contexts of crime when we compare murder rates, like the Mexican report did. There are substantial differences between crime within provinces, cities and even suburbs.”

NMBM Acting Executive Director of Safety and Security Shane Brown said: “The overwhelming response from recognised statistical agencies is that this report is misleading and does not convey a true reflection. Obviously any such report does harm the city and is cause for concern.

“The SAPS remains, and will always be, the only domain that reports on crime statistics as it is their competency.”

Nationally the Tourism Safety Initiative (tsi) is managed by the South African Tourism Services Association. It is a crime prevention and victim support programme for the Tourism industry in South Africa. People who have been victims of tourism crime can contact +27 861 874 911.
The Mexican study, released earlier this month, ranked the world’s 50 most violent cities in 2011.  Cape Town is ranked 34th, Nelson Mandela Bay 41st, Durban 49th and Johannesburg 50th.