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There will be “nothing” Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the SA Tourism Business Council, has warned the South African tourism industry if it can only start operating overall again in December, as seems likely in light of current coronavirus projections.
TBCSA is an umbrella non-profit organization representing companies in the travel and tourism sector.
The World Travel and Tourism Council has estimated that the SA tourism industry provided employment to more than 700,000 people in 2019. The industry has been decimated by travel and movement restrictions imposed in an attempt to curb the spread of the pandemic.
A survey released by the council, along with the Tourism Department on Friday, shows that 83% of responding companies said revenue for March 2020 decreased more than 50% compared to March 2019. One in three Businesses, meanwhile, said their revenue remained at zero.
About 58% of companies surveyed said they cannot pay their debts and 54% of companies were unable to cover fixed costs in March 2020.
South Africa’s domestic tourism season is likely to start in December and international tourism only next year, Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane recently said during an online briefing organized by SA Tourism. He hopes that his department, in conjunction with SA Turismo, can have a tourism recovery plan ready by the end of May.
For Tshivhengwa, a key focus for national industry bodies at this time should be to see how it can “eliminate risk” for certain segments of the industry. The hope is that certain segments of business tourism can be opened earlier under closure if they can demonstrate that they have clear measures to prevent the risk of the virus spreading.
Under current regulations, most tourist establishments will only be able to open below Level 1 of the national closure, while some may operate under Level 2.
The country is currently at Level 4, and the government has not yet charged when this will be changed.
‘Nothing to reopen’
“The message that TBCSA is sending to the government is that if we wait until December, there will be no hotels, events, conference organizers or tour operators left and we will have nothing to reopen,” he said during a webinar organized by SA Turismo on Monday.
The tourism industry is looking at what it can do to show the government how it can safely operate at higher blocking levels. In this sense, TBCSA is developing protocols that will be implemented when the accommodation companies reopen their doors. He would like the participation of the industry in making suggestions in this regard and then submitting a request to the government.
“It is very important for the SA tourism industry to speak with one voice when approaching the government regarding the closure and related matters. If we are going to be disjointed, we will not do much,” he added.
One of the ways that TBCSA is trying to help businesses is by trying to see if the Unemployment Insurance Fund could extend its Covid-19 relief payments on tourism claims until the end of the year, as the projection is that the industry could only then begin to operate again.
“Of course, it depends if there is money for that in the UIF kitty,” said Tshivhengwa.
Sisa Ntshona, CEO of SA TourismThe South African government’s official tourism marketing arm, said during the webinar that the government’s concern is that the tourism industry is “about moving people in different areas,” while the blockade is about stopping the spread. of the pandemic.
“We have no idea how long SA will remain in the current level 4 block and when it could go to level 3 or even return to level 5. These are the variables out of our control,” said Ntshona.
“We also don’t know how long the return phases of tourism will take, for example, first nationally, then regionally, and then internationally.”
Does not operate in a vacuum
At the same time, the extent of a revival of the local industry will depend on the current bans and restrictions in the countries from which South Africa used to obtain the majority of its international tourists..
It also depends on how our home markets respond to the pandemic in terms of bans and restrictions.
It is estimated that 20% of the tourism industry is employed in the food and beverage segment. Restrictions under current level 4 allow restaurants to open for home delivery only. The hotel industry body Fedhasa is working with the regional and national government to further unpack trade restrictions, guided by the strict security protocols it has developed for the sector.
The Department of Tourism has established a Covid-19 financial fund of R200 million to help small and medium-sized companies in the sector with a turnover of less than R2.5 million. To receive aid, companies would have to demonstrate that they are in danger due to the impact of the pandemic. Aid will be limited to R50,000 per company.
Union Solidarity and its civil rights associate AfriForum questioned Kubayi Ngubane’s decision to use broad-based black economic empowerment scores to determine who is eligible for the R200 million in emergency funds. It was dismissed and the organizations now plan to approach the Constitutional Court.
Over the weekend, the Black Business Council expressed its support for Kubayi-Ngubane, saying it was right to prioritize BB-BEE’s policy regarding aid to tourism sector companies affected by closure restrictions.
