Tourism trade needs to be prioritised in Section Two C…

A trader receives a payment from a European tourist in Cape Town at an African handicraft market. (Photo: EPA-EFE / NIC BOTHMA)

The tourism industry has been hit hard by locked borders to stop the spread of Covid-19, the third ban on alcohol sales, beach closings and curfews that restricted public life. The industry believes the answer to their recovery is accelerating the adoption of Covid-19 vaccines.

It will take two to three years for SA’s tourism industry, one of the biggest victims of Covid-19’s lockdown regulations, to recover to pre-pandemic levels and international tourists to return to the country in droves.

This comes from the perspective of South African Tourism and the Tourism Business Council of SA (TBCSA) – the two largest lobby groups in the country’s tourism industry – who also assume that the industry’s recovery to 2019 levels will depend on how fast and extensively the government is introducing Covid-19 vaccines.

In 2019, national and international tourism contributed R125 billion to SA’s economy, contributed 3% to the country’s GDP, and supported 750,000 direct jobs, according to SA Tourism. The industry’s contribution to SA’s economy in 2020 will not be spectacular as the government imposed lockdown rules in March 2020, initially establishing SA’s aviation industry, restricted travel, and locked borders to stop the spread of Covid-19. The tourism industry was also hit by the third ban on alcohol sales, beach closures and curfews, which restricted people’s movements and public life.

By October 2020, when the borders were reopened by the government, the arrival of international tourists had dropped 91% from October 2019, according to SA Tourism (see graph below). Travel by local tourists across South Africa and the arrival of tourists from neighboring African countries were alike in the doldrums.

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of TBCSA, said to reverse the decline, the government should accelerate its program to introduce vaccines to engage the general public and workers in the tourism industry.

“If we vaccinate quickly … it will send a signal to the international community that it is safe to come to SA,” Tshivhengwa said Monday during a webinar by SA Tourism and TBCSA on the recovery of the tourism industry.

According to the Ministry of Health, by Saturday, February 20, more than 10,000 healthcare workers had been successfully vaccinated as part of the first phase of vaccination. This phase focuses on vaccinating frontline health workers.

Tshivhengwa has called for workers along the tourism value chain – after healthcare workers – to be given priority in the vaccination program. Tshivhengwa wants workers in the tourism industry to be vaccinated in Phase Two, which focuses on high-risk groups, including the elderly and those with comorbidities.

“We worked to ensure that our members received the vaccine. We cannot go ahead of the medical professionals. But in phase two we should come first. We were the hardest hit sector. It’s only fair that we prioritize. “

Sisa Ntshona, the executive director of SA Tourism, supported Tshivhengwa’s view, saying, “If the introduction of the vaccine is slow, it is us [SA] is perceived [by international tourists] as risk and danger. And the people won’t come to SA. “

Without international tourists, Ntshona said, owners and operators of tourism facilities based in South Africa would have to depend on local and regional tourists. He added that domestic tourism establishments need to evaluate their offerings for the local market appropriately, rather than flushing international visitors with cash as has been the case in the industry so far.

According to Ntshona, pre-booking numbers for airline tickets or leisure tourism facilities for international travelers are worrying as the tourism industry remains fragile and shows no encouraging signs of recovery.

“The environment is so volatile. You can take a vacation in South Africa and your country of origin can announce new ban rules such as mandatory quarantine or Covid-19 tests. The world order in terms of travel is subdued. “

While the tourism industry has backed the government’s decision to reopen beaches and borders, lift the alcohol ban and extend unemployment insurance fund benefits for laid-off workers, it wants Finance Minister Tito Mboweni to offer more relief to the industry in his budget speech on Wednesday.

Like other departments, the government cut the tourism department’s budget to free up funds to support state-owned companies like SAA. In the medium-term declaration on budgetary policy in October 2020, Mboweni cut the tourism department’s budget by R 17.2 million.

“The finance minister has to come out and protect tourism and fund the sector,” said Ntshona. DM / BM

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