South Africa has postponed bringing in two tighter regulations on travel for children after the tourism industry raised concerns, the department of home affairs has said.

The controversial rules, which will require children to carry a full birth certificate and a letter of permission from their parents in order to travel, were due to come into effect on Wednesday but have now been postponed to June 1, 2015.

The rules make up part of a new immigration law that came into effect on May 26.

It included requirements that children carry their own passports, applications for new visas be made in home countries and biometric information be submitted in person.

Tourism chiefs argued that the requirement for an unabridged birth certificate for children and the provision for collecting biometric data could impact on the competitiveness of South Africa’s tourism sector.

“While the requirement that all children possess a passport has been implemented successfully, challenges have been raised regarding the requirements for the Unabridged Birth Certificate and written permission,” Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba said in a statement.

He said he was also taking into consideration the upcoming Christmas period and giving parents time to get their children’s documents in place to comply with the new regulations.

Last year nearly 10 million tourists visited South Africa, up about four per cent from 2012, in a key contributor to the continent’s most developed economy.