South Africa has criticised Britain's decision to keep the country on its coronavirus "red list", forcing travellers into a pricey hotel quarantine on their return to the UK.
High-paying foreign tourists are slowly returning to experience South Africa's wildlife and natural vistas, after being shut off from the rest of the world in 2020.
When the Beta variant was found in December, more countries blacklisted South Africa - a crippling blow as tourism directly accounts for three per cent of the nation's economy. Before the pandemic, tourism provided more than 700,000 jobs.
Most travellers coming from Europe and the US, South Africa's biggest tourism markets along with the UK, can currently holiday and then self-isolate at home upon return - a hassle that some are prepared to take.
But the UK has kept South Africa on its red list of high-risk countries, meaning anyone arriving from South Africa is forced to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days, costing more than $2,400 per person.
The high cost rules the country out for most British tourists.
Once a colonial power, Britain sent more than 400,000 visitors a year in pre-pandemic times - more than any country outside the continent.
Some British citizens such as Claire Alexander have been stuck in South Africa for over a year because of the costly restrictions.
"I've just spoken to my 91-year papa in Stirling and it's pretty sore knowing I can't get home," said the mother of two, whose youngest child has yet to meet "his Scottish clan".
What's more, Britain won't recognise vaccines administered anywhere in Africa - even if the shots came from Britain.
"If you send us vaccines and you say, 'we don't recognise those vaccines', it sends a very challenging message for us," said John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Marc Mendelson, an infectious disease expert from Britain who is based at the University of Cape Town, said he was "embarrassed" by his home country's government.
"Misinformation, misrepresentation, outdated & inaccurate science," he tweeted this week.
The British embassy in Pretoria acknowledged that South Africa's cases were going down, but said concerns remained "about the continued presence of Beta given its potential ability to circumvent vaccines".
Adrian Puren of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases told AFP that the Beta variant was now "undetectable" and that concerns over its vaccine resistance were "moot".
Leading genomics expert Tulio de Oliveira said South Africa had a higher vaccination rate than some non-red listed countries - including India, where the Delta variant first appeared.
"We have a smaller number of infections than the UK," de Oliveira said. "So why this discrimination?"
Daily new cases in South Africa peaked at the end of June at just over 26,000, but are now under 3,000 a day. Britain is seeing 10 times as many new cases a day.
Vaccinations, meanwhile, are picking up after a slow start, with around 20 per cent of South African adults fully jabbed.
South African tourism groups are lobbying London to remove the red tag as peak season nears, when snow birds leave the northern hemisphere's winter.
Director of luxury holiday booker Discover Africa Group, Andre Van Kets, argued the measures no longer made sense given infection and vaccination rates were "moving in the right direction".
British tourists are enquiring for 2022 and 2023, he said, but often pull out when asked to pay a deposit.
"There is no reasonable basis for keeping South Africa on the red list," Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said this week in a statement touting the country's "robust vaccination programme and excellent science".
"It's ridiculous," said Andre Retief of tour operator Safari With Us, which has relied on the UK for 20 to 30 per cent of its bookings.
"Covid is all over the world now and coming on safari is actually quite safe."
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
