The South African tourism industry ground to a halt with the COVID-19 pandemic. As we approach Level 3 of lockdown, almost all other business operations may resume except for tourism and travel operators and touch-based services.
Now, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) is in talks with government, pleading for the reopening of more tourism-related businesses on Level 3.
‘We urged the president to allow more businesses in tourism and its value-chain to be allowed to operate as soon as lockdown Level 3 in June. Totally restricting the tourism industry from operating, as was the case under the hard lockdown and now in Level 4, has already had a devastating impact on the sector,’ TBCSA CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa told Moneyweb.
Some restaurants are open for takeaway purchases and the odd hotel will accommodate guests who travel for work, but that is not nearly enough to revive the industry and most businesses are struggling to stay afloat.
‘We stressed to the president that if the tourism industry is only allowed to start recommencing business in levels 2 and 1 of the lockdown, we may not have much of a tourism industry left. We went to him with plans around how the industry can operate, but under strict health and safety protocols,’ Tshivhengwa said.
In a report on the state of the industry, Cape Town Tourism said that as many as 90 000 jobs may be lost within the Cape’s tourism industry in the next six months. A survey conducted by the TBCSA revealed that over 80 000 people in the sector have already applied for the COVID-19 UIF Ters benefit.
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