Re: Foreign Tourists Abandon Kruger Due to Protest Dangers on Access Roads
Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 7:09 am
Shots fired during armed robbery of German tourists
An elderly German couple touring the Lowveld became victims of an armed robbery on their way to KMI Airport on Tuesday.
23 hours ago
WHITE RIVER – According to police spokesman Sgt Cynthia Mbokodo, they were on their way to the airport at around 13:30. The woman (62) and her husband (65) were due to catch a flight at 16:00.
According to Mbokodo, a white Volkswagen Polo with no registration plates overtook them as they came to a stop at the circle of the R538. The attackers came to a stop in front of the bakkie they were travelling in.
“Two men with firearms got out. They fired three shots near the couple’s car and then pointed the firearms at them. They opened the doors of the vehicle and took the couple’s bags and belongings. They took their bag with their passports and euros valued at around R15 000.”
Mbokodo said they attended the scene and a bullet casing had been found.
“Airport police and our police, with forensics were at the scene. The couple assured us that they had sufficient documentation to still catch their flight back.”
No arrests have been made.
Ecotraining sales and product manager, Corne Schalkwyk said the German source market happened to be the country’s largest international market, and, although a more robust one, was still easily affected by crime.
“They happen to be a more informed market when it comes to South Africa as a product, but do expect action to be taken after such an incident. I expect that they would keep a close eye on how we react and follow up, and would expect that our government take this seriously,” he said.
According to the website South African and East African Tourism Update, South Africa has a bad reputation as an unsafe country where tourists run a high risk of getting mugged, robbed or hijacked. They reported that failure by government to address the high crime rate was costing the country thousands of jobs in the tourism sector.
The website also stated that tourists pay thousands of rand to come to the country and visit the Kruger National Park or Sabi Sand Game Reserve.
If the road is blocked in protests and tourists cannot get to their destination, nothing good can come from that. If their itinerary was disrupted in any way, they will go home and never return to South Africa, and warn others never to come here.
https://lowvelder.co.za/461495/shots-fi ... -tourists/
An elderly German couple touring the Lowveld became victims of an armed robbery on their way to KMI Airport on Tuesday.
23 hours ago
WHITE RIVER – According to police spokesman Sgt Cynthia Mbokodo, they were on their way to the airport at around 13:30. The woman (62) and her husband (65) were due to catch a flight at 16:00.
According to Mbokodo, a white Volkswagen Polo with no registration plates overtook them as they came to a stop at the circle of the R538. The attackers came to a stop in front of the bakkie they were travelling in.
“Two men with firearms got out. They fired three shots near the couple’s car and then pointed the firearms at them. They opened the doors of the vehicle and took the couple’s bags and belongings. They took their bag with their passports and euros valued at around R15 000.”
Mbokodo said they attended the scene and a bullet casing had been found.
“Airport police and our police, with forensics were at the scene. The couple assured us that they had sufficient documentation to still catch their flight back.”
No arrests have been made.
Ecotraining sales and product manager, Corne Schalkwyk said the German source market happened to be the country’s largest international market, and, although a more robust one, was still easily affected by crime.
“They happen to be a more informed market when it comes to South Africa as a product, but do expect action to be taken after such an incident. I expect that they would keep a close eye on how we react and follow up, and would expect that our government take this seriously,” he said.
According to the website South African and East African Tourism Update, South Africa has a bad reputation as an unsafe country where tourists run a high risk of getting mugged, robbed or hijacked. They reported that failure by government to address the high crime rate was costing the country thousands of jobs in the tourism sector.
The website also stated that tourists pay thousands of rand to come to the country and visit the Kruger National Park or Sabi Sand Game Reserve.
If the road is blocked in protests and tourists cannot get to their destination, nothing good can come from that. If their itinerary was disrupted in any way, they will go home and never return to South Africa, and warn others never to come here.
https://lowvelder.co.za/461495/shots-fi ... -tourists/