Following months of protests in Spain, Greece and Italy – among other hotspots – the anti-tourism sentiment has spread south, beyond Europe, and into Africa. Now, angry locals in an African country have taken to social media to warn tourists against visiting their cities.
South African influencer Naledi Mallela took to her TikTok to call out the huge numbers of tourists flocking to Cape Town and tell them to “stop coming” to her country. One of the main frustrations she voiced was the dramatic increases in prices she linked to the large influx of visitors with higher purchasing power, making many products unaffordable for locals. Mallela issued a stern five-word warning for visitors.
In her video, Naledi Mallela said: “I need you guys to stop it!” She added: “Stop it right now, stop coming to South Africa!
“No, I’m being serious! I have no problem with the fact that you guys are realising that South Africa is a beautiful country and we have cheap s***.
“But the problem with you guys coming here is that everything is getting expensive! Like, every single second TikTok, an American is here, someone is going to a safari, everything has become expensive, Nando’s costs 600 [South African Rand] for a full chicken,” she added, roughly equivalent to £25.50.
“This is all your fault!” she exclaimed. “And stop saying everything is cheap, things are not cheap for us.”
“You’re talking about how beautiful Cape Town is, this is all amazing,” she continued. “Do you know that I can’t afford to go to Cape Town because of you?”
“I know South Africa is beautiful, I know we’ve got lots of animals, but please guys, stop coming here, just for now,” she begged. “Just tone it down.”
Naledi Mallela is not the only one to share the sentiment. Others took to the comments to share their own opinions: “They have destroyed Hawaii, Brazil and Thailand. If our government doesn’t impose heavy taxes on land ownership and regulate rent prices against international tenants, we’re doomed”.
“They must try Ghana or Angola. Leave us ALOOOOOOONE!!” said another.
“We need to start petitioning our government to do something FAST. The best tourism destinations in the world have a poor quality of life for the citizens.”
Meanwhile, Cape Town’s mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, defended digital nomads as “a blessing to our economy,” adding that the biggest scourges in the city were poverty and unemployment.
He did admit, however, that there needed to be a “level playing field” to balance the interests of visitors and locals.
He said the city was looking to implement a process to convert “permanent Airbnbs” from residential to commercial taxes, which he said would bring in more money for the region: “I think that’s only fair. There has to be an equal playing field.”