Thanks to the new COVID variant, Omicron, South Africans travel arrangements have been severely curtailed. It seems the world has gone mad, and sadly the industry most affected is that of travel & tourism.

South Africa is currently being punished - instead of applauded - for discovering Omicron, a concerning new variant of Covid-19. A statement by the foreign ministry on Saturday strongly criticised the travel bans that have been imposed on our country. "Excellent science should be applauded and not punished," it said. The bans are "akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker". The statement adds that the reaction had been completely different when new variants were discovered elsewhere in the world.

It is our greatest regret to advise that as from 01 December, South Africans will not be accepted into the following countries:

• UAE
• United Kingdom
• Australia
• Austria
• Canada
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• France
• Hong Kong
• Ireland: People travelling to Ireland from South Africa and six other African nations will have to get a pre-flight PCR test to fly into Ireland, and take part in 10-day mandatory quarantine 'at home', which will end if they receive two negative PCR tests. These rules apply regardless of vaccination status.
• Germany
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Malaysia
• Mauritius
• Netherlands
• Philippines
• Qatar
• Seychelles
• Singapore
• Turkey
• Kingdom of Thailand
• United States of America

It is devastating, not only for our clients but also for the tourism industry which has battled on against all odds since early 2020. We hope that the situation may change in the next few weeks ahead, and be assured we will keep you posted.