Actually, it should be a relaxing holiday in one of the most beautiful national parks in Africa.

On the way to the Kruger National Park, however, four German tourists got caught in an attempted robbery in their car, which ended in the death of the group's driver.

The four holidaymakers were on their way to Mdluli Safari Lodge, which is located in the south of the Kruger National Park.

On the access road around 35 kilometers before the Numbi Gate, through which many tourists reach the national park, the car of the German tourists was stopped by three armed attackers.

"The perpetrators asked the tourists to open the vehicle doors," said Selvy Mohlala, spokesman for the South African police.

The 67-year-old died at the scene

However, the driver locked all the doors before reversing the car about 100 meters and crashing into a wall.

One of the attackers opened fire and shot the driver of the car through the window in the torso.

The 67-year-old died at the scene.

The investigators initially did not provide information on the exact origin.

The incident comes as a major shock to the South African tourism industry, which finally seemed to be recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are seeing more international tourists visiting our country again," said Oupa Pilane, deputy chairman of the Southern African Tourism Services Association (Satsa) of the German Press Agency.

The regional chamber of tourism relies on a quick clarification of the incident.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency offered a reward of 50,000 South African rand (around 2,800 euros) for information leading to the arrest of the attackers who continued to flee.

Stricter security measures planned

“We South Africans are warm-hearted people.

This criminal behavior is not compatible with our way of life,” said Themba Khumalo, executive director of the South African Tourism Association.

He expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

The German ambassador in South Africa, Andreas Peschke, thanked South African radio for the efforts of the South African authorities to quickly clarify the incident.

He referred to the large share of German vacationers in the South African tourism market.

And this should be even bigger, because Lufthansa is planning a direct line to Mpumalanga, which should bring even more tourists to the Kruger National Park.

"This is precisely why it is important to protect the safety of our tourists," said the ambassador.

Accordingly, tourism lobbyist Pilane directly announced stricter security measures for the country's key tourist regions.

The access road to the Numbi Gate is to be monitored with cameras in the future.

Private security patrols have been in place for several months.

"However, the perpetrators spy on the routes and simply look for their victims in the opposite direction," said Pilane.

In South Africa, the crime rate remains high.

A recently released police statistic in the country shows that the homicide rate in the country rose by 11.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year.

The number of robberies was 14 percent above the previous year's level.

The Foreign Office also warns of robberies when driving on the motorway in the urban area.

The Ministry recommends not to resist robberies, as the perpetrators are usually armed.

Only at the beginning of the year was a single mother and her children shot at by armed attackers directly at the Numbi Gate.

The daughter was injured.

The incident caused a national stir at the time.