Members of South Africa’s tourism sector have asked the government to allow international tourists to come back as early as September.
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) is advocating for an earlier phased reopening after the government said that the country may not reopen to international tourists until February 2021.
Last week it was that South Africa’s Department of Tourism predicted domestic tourism wouldn’t resume until December this year, while international tourism wouldn’t get going until February 2021.
Since this announcement, the TBCSA has been engaging with the government on the Tourism Recovery Strategy and will be presenting its new approach at the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee meeting today (June 9).
“South Africa is following a Risk-Adjusted Strategy based on levels of lockdown, not dates. These levels are defined according to relevant epidemiologic facts,” Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO TBCSA, said in a statement.
“We are confident that we are in a position to reopen the inbound market in a safe and health-focussed manner at least in September.”
The TBCSA is putting an ‘acute emphasis’ on beginning the phased reopening earlier in South Africa as the country’s high summer season runs from September to March (accounting for 60 per cent of its total annual tourism numbers). If international tourists aren’t allowed back until February next year, this could have a damaging effect on the sector.
In South Africa, inbound tourism employs over 375,000 people and it's estimated that 40,000 jobs have already been lost due to the current pandemic.
David Frost, CEO of Southern Africa Tourism Services Association, said in a briefing: “We're not Government. We can't open this up on our own. Government is looking to us for direction and guidance. And, in all the touchpoints that we've had around protocols, we've had a receptive audience. We need to take this up to the next gear, which is what we are going to do.”
Tourism sectors across the world are rallying for governments to reopen borders as soon as possible. Several airlines in the UK are encouraging the government to drop its new quarantine measures for incoming passengers, which were introduced this week. And there have also been talks of the UK forming air bridges with European countries to travel freely without quarantine.
