SOUTH AFRICA: South African Tourists To Register With Government Amid Terror Attacks

South African travellers planning to visit any of the world’s hot spots‚ including Turkey‚ are encouraged to put their names on a register so that the Department of International Relations and Cooperation are aware of their whereabouts in case of emergency.

This follows Sunday’s car bomb blasts in Ankara‚ Turkey‚ which killed at least 37 people.

“In light of the increasing terror attacks that we are witnessing‚ we would advise South Africans to register on the Registration of South Africans Abroad website‚ which will allow the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to assist South Africans in the event of an emergency‚” said Sharmila Ragunanan‚ Flight Centre’s Strategic Marketing Specialist.

She also urged South Africans visiting Turkey to exercise extreme caution.

Turkey is a growing tourism market for South Africans‚ with approximately 40‚000 outbound trips undertaken to the country in 2015‚ according to Flight Centre’s statistics.

Ragunanan said Flight Centre had not been contacted by any customers wanting to change or cancel their bookings.

“South Africans are very resilient travellers and so are unlikely to change their travel plans as a result of the bomb blast. However‚ they should remain extremely vigilant and follow any instructions given by police‚ tour operators and hotel staff‚” she said.

Tourists in need of advice could contact their travel agent‚ South Africa’s representative office or visit the British government’s Foreign Travel Advice service at https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice for more information.