Hazyview takes the safety of tourists seriously
In the period before the arrival of Covid-19, tourists to the region were plagued by roadside robberies and attacks on the roads around Hazyview, Sabie, Graskop and White River.
This led to the setting up of a task group to promote liaison between the tourism bodies of the individual towns and regional structures. The task group was formalised in November 2019 in preparation for the summer high season period. It was known as the Tourism Think Tank and consisted of the Kruger Lowveld Tourism, Ehlanzeni District Council, Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, the Provincial Department of Tourism and SAPS, among others.
The resulting structure had a number of roles. Through the Hazyview Chamber of Business and Tourism (HCBT), they improved communications between the towns and with their respective police stations. They worked with vehicle hire companies, shared information on attacks and created a dossier with details of each event in order to analyse patterns of behaviour and details of the perpetrators.
An aftercare process was formed for victims to be assisted with documentation and replacement of stolen items, to enable them to return home or, preferably, to continue with their holidays.
The process consisted of providing reassurance and dealing with fear and shock, facilitating the paperwork with SAPS, assisting with payments and onward bookings, cancelling stolen cards and replacing essential stolen items. This meant dealing with overseas banks and embassies as well as HCBT’s own authorities.
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A joint operations centre was organised through the Think Tank with the assistance of SAPS and the Mpumalanga Department of Tourism, and was set up in the Hazyview Police Station to help monitor the process and ensure a prompt response to any incidents. Security companies and structures such as Spes-Plan Security and Sabie Valley Neighbourhood Security Structure, set up by farmers and lodges along the R536 in Hazyview, lent support and assisted with patrols, pursuits and follow-ups.
The HCBT committee is on permanent standby to respond to any situation. The greatest spin-off has been the increased cooperation among members of the HCBT, assisted and demonstrated by the amount of general information now shared on the organisation’s WhatsApp group. It is a constantly active group sharing general information on all matters related to tourism.
It is open only to members of HCBT and other businesses with a direct interest in tourism. “Due to lockdown and the consequent greatly reduced numbers of international tourists, there have been almost negligible numbers of crimes against tourists in the past 18 months. With tourism beginning to return, though, we are already prepared to react to any uptick,” said Chris Harvie of the HCBT.
The HCBT hopes this will continue into the future and further ensure the safety of all tourists visiting or passing through our important tourism hub.
