Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has requested for a policy review panel to consider having international and South African travellers pay different prices at local tourism establishments.
The minister has mentioned that many tourism companies have introduced the two-tier pricing system where international and local tourists do not pay the same amount.
During a tourism briefing in April, the minister said ‘I have asked a policy review panel to look at the possibility of a policy for having prices for locals and others for international visitors and how this can be implemented,’ reported News24.
The tourism sector is being encouraged to decide for itself especially while South Africa is still blacklisted from a number of countries.
Ideally, having different prices for both international and local travellers could prevent the closure of businesses seeing that those who have this two-tier system didn’t retrench any workers. The more affordable travel is for locals, the better for a business’s staff.
‘It would be sad to see establishments closing while there is a domestic market,’ she said.
During the briefing CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) said the majority of establishments are offering 50% prices of what they used to be before the pandemic and that ‘everyone is trying to make sure a few people walk through their doors, while input costs always remain the same.’
PICTURE: Unsplash
