If you happen to have seen Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom you will recognise Idris Elba, the Hollywood heavyweight who has shot to fame over the past few years.

Elba says he has a special affinity for South Africa and was headed to our shores to promote his new film Mandela, My Dad and Me. His plans were dealt a late blow though when things took a turn for the worse. Here’s TimesLive:

Elba was set to arrive in South Africa on Sunday, 22 November. He wanted his daughter, Isan, to accompany him on the trip. It’s understood he was at Heathrow International Airport in the business class lounge when he was told that he could not travel, as his daughter did not have the correct documents needed under the South African immigration laws.

“He certainly wasn’t going to leave his 14-year-old daughter alone at the airport and made the decision to cancel the trip. He is very upset about the whole thing, as he loves South Africa and had no idea about the new laws,” a source told us.

I suppose we don’t know exactly what documentation he failed to provide for his daughter, but PR wise we don’t need stories like these making international news. Then there’s what those new laws mean for SAA and their business, children flying to our shores dropping by 41% since the new laws were introduced.

With an estimated loss of around 100 000 visitors in 2015, costing the country a cool R1,4 billion, the more stringent visa laws are in the process of being tweaked. The Telegraph reports:

CEO of TBCSA [Tourism Business Council of South Africa] Mmatsatsi Ramawela welcomed the changes, which will be made over the next year, and said they are “a step in the right direction”.

“Our priority is to address the uncertainty that is currently in the market around the travel requirements for destination South Africa – whether one is travelling for leisure or business – and to restore tourist confidence in our destination,” she said. “Thus, we wish to take time to study the finer details of the Cabinet approved recommendations before we make further pronouncements on this matter.”

Better late than never I suppose…

[sources:timeslive&telegraph]