Despite Covid-19 surges, South Africans adamant of going on vacation

Sisa Ntshona, chief executive officer (CEO) of SA Tourism, said recently that the tourism industry needed the country’s domestic tourism to recover the significant losses that were brought on by the pandemic.

The industry employs at least 1.5 million people and contributes R425 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

According to the latest daily figures, the Eastern Cape had 1541 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, the Western Cape 1368, KwaZulu-Natal 545 and Gauteng 471, with the Western Cape fast gaining on the Eastern Cape.

Professor Mary-Anne Davies, a public health specialist from the Western Cape department of health, said on Thursday infections were increasing in the Cape Town metro, the Garden Route, Cape Winelands and the Overberg.

Premier Alan Winde said on Thursday morning that people could go ahead with their holiday plans to visit the Garden Route, as long as they kept in mind that infections there were increasing.

“People must adhere to the measures and not be part of the problem. We all know what to do. Wear your mask.”

The Nelson Mandela Bay metro, which includes the city of Port Elizabeth and the towns of Uitenhage and Despatch, has been identified as the epicentre of the current resurgence of Covid-19. Shaun van Eck, chairperson of Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, said bookings in the metro were at about 50% of last year’s.

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“We believe that, as visitors are monitoring the situation in most coastal destinations in SA, there will be a lot of last-minute bookings. We have had about 1% of bookings cancelled at the moment. Our planned activities for the holidays were put together in a manner that avoids large gatherings.”

Tourist bookings

Patty Butterworth, CEO of Plett Tourism, had also noted very few, if any, cancellations and an increase in enquiries over the past 48 hours “due to the media attention the Garden Route has received”.

“Plettenberg Bay Covid cases are relatively low in comparison to our neighbours because businesses and community members have been adhering to very strict protocols. Most of the larger fully-serviced accommodation establishments, as well as the majority of self-catering homes are fully booked.”

Nicky Krugel from Jeffrey’s Bay Tourism, said accommodation in Jeffrey’s Bay was fully booked, but there could be cancellations due to Covid-19. Colleen Durant, general manager of Visit Knysna, said feedback indicated that reservations were good this season, but local government was monitoring the current situation closely.

Executive mayor of Knysna, Elrick van Aswegen, said everybody had a very taxing year.

“The area would benefit greatly from the seasonal boost to the economy. While we must stay safe to move forward, we are open. We all deserve to let off some steam this season, but we must do so safely. Avoid crowds, close contact and confined spaces. Wear your mask and wash your hands.”

Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, told Radio 702 on Wednesday that about 30% of small businesses had been closing down.“There is no time for complacency when it comes to adhering to safety protocols.”

He said his organisation would continue to run various campaigns and also focus on industry safety and readiness to make sure that the sector adhered to the Covid-19 regulations.

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“I think this type of complacency in the sector has to come to an end. We are aware of a few establishments that have not been complying. The increase in Covid-19 infections is worrying, especially for the industry. The number of bookings is increasing and we are running campaigns with Flight Centre and Travelstart that also saw a rise in flights or room nights sold.”

Gerrilene Fouché, head of marketing at Lekkeslaap, said the platform was flooded with bookings since the move to level 2 of the national lockdown in September, which were sometimes higher than previous years.

“As we near the festive season, our booking levels are very similar to last year, but it is particularly surprising to see that the average value of our bookings is much higher than usual. This can be attributed to guests booking longer stays than usual, as well guests who would normally have travelled internationally booking local holidays instead.”

Many of its establishments were already fully booked for the festive season and the most popular December holiday towns were quickly running out of availability.

“Popular destinations such as Plettenberg Bay, Mossel Bay, Margate and Stilbaai are all well over 90% booked,” Fouché said.

On the Lekkeslaap platform, the Western Cape as a whole was over 85% booked during the peak of the holiday season and the South Coast had less than 10% availability left.

Kirby Gordon, chief marketing officer of FlySafair, said the airline’s bookings were looking good. “The trend this year is a short booking curve, because people seem to wait until the last minute to book, which is understandable given all the uncertainty, especially around the situation unfolding in the Western Cape.”

He said the market was also experiencing a pretty severe supply shock with all the other carriers coming back. “We are seeing the number of available seats on domestic routes pretty much double from November, which is great news for customers because prices will be pretty low.”

What if you book and have to self-isolate or quarantine?

What will happen when you have booked, paid a deposit, but you have to self-isolate or even self-quarantine because of Covid-19 a day or two before you leave? Will you get your deposit back?

The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) protects your right to cancel advance reservations, bookings or orders in section 17. According to this section, a supplier who commits to, or accepts a reservation to supply goods or services on a later date, can require that you pay a reasonable deposit in advance and impose a reasonable charge for cancellation.

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However, the supplier is not allowed to charge you a cancellation fee if you are unable to honour the booking, reservation or order because you die or are admitted to hospital. This is where the question arises: is self-isolation or self-quarantine due to Covid-19 exposure or infection considered as “admitted to hospital” even if you stay at home?

Trudie Broekmann, a consumer law expert from Cape Town, says the common law rules, which explain how we treat a contract when it becomes impossible for one of the parties to perform their contractual obligations, will ensure a fair outcome for consumers who have to cancel their holiday bookings when they have to self-isolate or self-quarantine.

“In the case of quarantine, the consumer is prevented from enjoying the holiday due to government regulations requiring isolation. In such a case, the supplier is excused from having to perform his obligations in terms of the contract and the consumer is excused from paying for the services.

Force majeure

“Since you are prevented from making use of the holiday by a cause beyond your control [the regulations are a ‘force majeure’ event], the supplier is not entitled to charge damages for any losses suffered,” she said.

However, the supplier can contract out of these common law rules by imposing a cancellation fee, but the cancellation fee must comply with the CPA’s requirement that the fee must be fair, reasonable and just toward the consumer.

“In most cases, imposing a cancellation fee in the case of self-isolation will not be fair, reasonable or just and therefore suppliers are prohibited from charging such fees.”

Broekmann said a consumer could not rely on a self-created impossibility to avoid paying for the holiday.

“If you take unreasonable risks such as failing to wear a mask in public, attending crowded events and failing to avoid contact with people who could be infected with Covid-19, you cannot escape the cancellation fee or any of the supplier’s terms regarding forfeiting the deposit.”

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