Robbed Dutch tourists had safety concerns about SA
Victims of tour coach raid had opted for group travel
SOME of the Dutch tourists who were robbed in Johannesburg had booked an organised trip because of safety concerns, according to the Dutch ambassador to South Africa‚ Marisa Gerards.
“There were also some young people whose parents said‚ ‘why don’t you look at [an] organised trip‚ because it is safer’‚” Gerards said.
“In that sense, it was a bit cynical that those who were so concerned about their safety were so brutally robbed.”
She was speaking at a media conference yesterday at the Zulu Nyala Country Manor in Fourways‚ Johannesburg‚ alongside Police Minister Fikile Mbalula and Tourism Minister Tokozile Xasa.
The 36 Dutch tourists were robbed at about 11pm on Sunday on their way from the OR Tambo International Airport to their accommodation in Fourways.
Their bus was stopped by one man dressed in a police uniform and five other men in civilian clothing in a police-marked vehicle.
The hands and feet of the bus driver and the tour leader were tied with cable ties.
Five men boarded the bus and stole whatever they could.
Tourist Peter Bakker told Dutch newspaper Telegraaf that after the robbers had left‚ the passengers freed themselves.
The driver had a spare key and drove the tourists to their hotel.
“Many people are in shock and want to return [home],” Bakker said.
Police spokesman Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said the bus had been stopped close to Fourways.
He could not say if the robber in police uniform was a police officer.
The tourists’ 22-day travel programme cost about R35 000.
It included visiting Johannesburg‚ Pretoria‚ Cape Town‚ Swaziland‚ Lesotho‚ the Drakensberg‚ the Wild Coast‚ the Kruger National Park‚ Route 62 and the Garden Route.
Dutch travel company ANWB is not reconsidering its tours to South Africa, despite the robbery.
ANWB spokesman Ad Vonk said a new group of Dutch tourists arrived in South Africa on Monday night.
Vonk said the group that was robbed consisted largely of people 60 or older‚ but there were a few women in their late 20s and early 30s.
Some of them were treated for light injuries.
Three passengers had their passports stolen. They were issued with new passports before they were escorted to the airport yesterday afternoon by a police vehicle‚ just three days after they arrived.
Mbalula said the robbery undermined South Africa as a tourism destination.
After a meeting with the tourists yesterday afternoon, he said some had said they would not be deterred‚ because then the criminals would have been victorious.
“We don’t have words to express our embarrassment and our regret for what happened,” Mbalula told Gerards.
Gerards said the robbery had received media coverage in the Netherlands and other European countries. The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (Satsa) is concerned the attack will have a negative impact on the industry.
“It is not good for our image‚” Satsa chief executive David Frost said.
“What was good is that there was a very coordinated response from South African Tourism‚ Satsa and many of the Satsa members to sort the issue out as quickly as we could.
“I’m encouraged that the minister of police went to visit the tourists.
“The important thing is that we all need to sit down with the minister and his top team to actually sort out pre-emptive measures and operative procedures that will prevent these things from happening again.”
According to Statistics South Africa‚ the Netherlands ranked ninth on the list of the top 10 countries in terms of tourists visiting South Africa, in the middle of this year.