July 20 2006 at 12:14PM
By Terr-Liza Fortein
Independent Democrats Cape Town leader Simon Grindrod has offered "a one-way air ticket to a destination of his choice" to the architect of a contentious website claiming to give tourists a preview of crime and violence in South Africa.
Cape Town insurance broker Neil Watson has come under fire for his questionable depiction of crime in South Africa.
Watson has used stories of rape, robbery and hijacking on his website to deter tourists from South Africa.
He believes his crime exposure campaign will force authorities to do more to address high crime rates.
But Grindrod disagrees. He lashed out at Watson for calling on the international community to boycott the 2010 World Cup and for attempting to stop international tourism.
"If it is genuinely the intention of Neil Watson to damage the economy of South Africa in this blatant and irrational way, then I offer him a one-way air ticket to a destination of his choice," said Grindrod.
"I understand the frustration about high levels of crime behind this website, but Neil Watson needs to consider how deterring tourism is going to worsen the already high levels of unemployment."
He said Watson's actions were designed to set "our country back even further" and that he hoped the international community would form a balanced rational view of South Africa.
Cape Town Tourism general manager Mariette du Toit, said Watson's website was getting too much unnecessary publicity: "We do not support his website because the information he supplies is not factual."
She said Watson should find a more constructive way of achieving his goals.
The Cape Argus telephoned Watson throughout Wednesday but he did not return the calls.
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