SA shopping malls lure traders
Johannesburg - While most tourists head for South Africa's beaches and safari parks, many African visitors forego the natural wonders for shopping malls.
For years, cross-border shoppers from southern Africa have flocked to Johannesburg to buy cheap goods that can be taken home and sold for a profit.
Now officials are seeing their own dollar signs after a study showed the influx of African "tourism traders" lifts the local economy by R20bn per year.
In 2004 - the latest year of available data - the hotspots for more than half a million African visitors were South Africa's array of shops, mainly wholesalers and a specific brand known as "cash and carry."
"These are typically low- to middle-income people who come because there is a wide variety of goods and good quality. And these stores may just be popping up in their own country," said urban consultant Neil Fraser of the newly-formed Johannesburg Cross-Border Shopping Association.
Most visitors come from Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Malawi where many people live on less than a dollar a day, said Tammy Lieberman, from a consulting firm hired by the city to study the issue.
Urban economic development officials are hoping to harness this powerful consumer base in a city often ignored by other visitors because of its reputation for high rates of violent crime and xenophobia.
A welcome booth for cross-border traders travelling on shoestring budgets is due to open this year at Johannesburg's Park Station, a commuter hub that is running at full capacity.
Manager Nico Bredenhann is working with city planners to develop a new passenger boarding area and talks are underway for an international terminal to consolidate a smattering of informal bus stops located in dusty yards around the inner city.
"Cross-border traders have increased by about 50% in the last five to seven years. It's just booming," said Bredenhann.
No credit
One of the most popular destinations on the trader circuit is the "cash and carry," massive warehouses where forklift trucks cart pallets of household staples and items needed to run a business. Aisle after aisle of bargain-priced goods tower several stories tall.
Cash is usually the only method of payment, with big-order customers the only exception to a strict no-credit policy.
The boom has created its own set of challenges.
Out-of-towners carrying large wads of cash are vulnerable targets for robbery in a city with one of the highest crimes rates in the world.
A lack of low-cost accommodation and the near absence of a reliable local transit system complicates their stay. Some shoppers are unaware of a tax refund process at the border - where they face long queues or a night-time stay if they arrive after closing time.
A four-hour wait at land crossings is common as customs officials search for illegal items and check receipts to charge duty on purchases.
News source: www.news24.co.za
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