Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon corrected a written answer on Travel: Coronavirus

5 July 2021 · Lords written answer · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Lord Oates (Liberal Democrat, Life peer) asked written question HL1255 on 21 June 2021. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon answered on 5 July 2021 for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon corrected the answer on 5 July 2021. The corrected text adds the figure 400,000, which the original did not give. Altogether 82 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the economy of South Africa of the UK’s decision to put South Africa on the red list for COVID-19 travel restrictions; and in particular the effect on (1) the tourism industry, and (2) funding for conservation programmes.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
The ~~UK's Travel Advice makes clear that~~ the ~~Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises against all but essential~~ travel to South Africa ~~based on the assessment of COVID-19 risks.~~ While we hope that travel for tourism purposes will resume soon between the UK and South Africa, public health remains our number one priority. ~~The current traffic light system will continue to categorise countries based on risk to protect public health.~~ The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a significant impact on South Africa's economy, with real GDP growth at -7 per cent in 2020. The situation remains challenging for 2021, although GDP forecasts are more positive. Many sectors of South Africa's economy have been affected, including the tourism industry, with South Africa receiving 72.6 per cent fewer tourists from countries worldwide in 2020. There is no direct link between UK travel restrictions and funding for conservation work, the UK remains committed to working with South Africa on environmental and conservation issues.	The current traffic light system categorises countries based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. South Africa is an important partner for the UK, including in the tourism industry, which pre-pandemic saw approximately 400,000 British Nationals travel to South Africa annually. While we hope that travel for tourism purposes will resume soon between the UK and South Africa, public health remains our number one priority. The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a significant impact on South Africa's economy, with real GDP growth at -7 per cent in 2020. The situation remains challenging for 2021, although GDP forecasts are more positive. Many sectors of South Africa's economy have been affected, including the tourism industry, with South Africa receiving 72.6 per cent fewer tourists from countries worldwide in 2020. There is no direct link between UK travel restrictions and funding for conservation work, the UK remains committed to working with South Africa on environmental and conservation issues.

Original

Corrected

The ~~UK's Travel Advice makes clear that~~ the ~~Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises against all but essential~~ travel to South Africa ~~based on the assessment of COVID-19 risks.~~ While we hope that travel for tourism purposes will resume soon between the UK and South Africa, public health remains our number one priority. ~~The current traffic light system will continue to categorise countries based on risk to protect public health.~~
The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a significant impact on South Africa's economy, with real GDP growth at -7 per cent in 2020. The situation remains challenging for 2021, although GDP forecasts are more positive. Many sectors of South Africa's economy have been affected, including the tourism industry, with South Africa receiving 72.6 per cent fewer tourists from countries worldwide in 2020.
There is no direct link between UK travel restrictions and funding for conservation work, the UK remains committed to working with South Africa on environmental and conservation issues.

The current traffic light system categorises countries based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19.
South Africa is an important partner for the UK, including in the tourism industry, which pre-pandemic saw approximately 400,000 British Nationals travel to South Africa annually. While we hope that travel for tourism purposes will resume soon between the UK and South Africa, public health remains our number one priority.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a significant impact on South Africa's economy, with real GDP growth at -7 per cent in 2020. The situation remains challenging for 2021, although GDP forecasts are more positive. Many sectors of South Africa's economy have been affected, including the tourism industry, with South Africa receiving 72.6 per cent fewer tourists from countries worldwide in 2020.
There is no direct link between UK travel restrictions and funding for conservation work, the UK remains committed to working with South Africa on environmental and conservation issues.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1338319?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`cda7c96ce062e83531cf9a78dfe04f2b1946a5d8e52601f4497fe6d0543f5786`