Restart domestic travel so we can survive – restaurant and tourism bodies

Tourism and restaurant industry bodies have urged government to announce a date for the reopening of interprovincial travel as uncertainty grips these ailing sectors.

The tourism industry has bled R65 billion since the start of the national lockdown following the Covid-19 outbreak this year, according to Southern African Tourism Association (TBCSA) chief executive officer Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa.

Adding to the urgency were the 500 000 people whose jobs hung in the balance as the months rolled by with no indication of when leisure travel would be allowed.

Tshivhengwa said government’s approach to domestic travel restrictions defied logic as other industries with higher exposure to close human contact were already operating.

The tourism sector was 66% dependent on domestic travellers.

More than 250 000 employees in the tourism value chain applied for the Unemployment Insurance Fund temporary employee/employer relief scheme programme in April and May and this is expected to double with June applications.

About 49 000 small, medium and micro enterprises have already been negatively affected and the association warned more would meet a similar fate.

These were among the projections given by the TBCSA when it presented its case for reopening to Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“You need to get domestic leisure travel open right now. Domestic business travel is an essential part of this sector but it is not enough. We need to open up the economy. If you are saying people cannot move around, even business travellers are going to be reluctant to move around.

“The second part of it is that we need international travellers to come back into the country, we need to set a date for that.”

According to Wendy Alberts, CEO of the Restaurants Association of South Africa, the industry, which depended largely on domestic tourism, had been completely decimated, with some iconic luxury restaurants having already closed down.

“South African restaurants are internationally renowned for culinary excellence and often attract international and domestic tourism. We have several Michelin star-accredited restaurants, so it is really concerning to see the state we are in,” said Alberts.

Despite ongoing discussions with government, the association said it was none the wiser on how much longer it had to wait to be allowed full operation, let alone when domestic leisure travel, which the sector depended on, would be allowed again.

“We have no clarification on that. We have not even had a protocol directive given to us for how we are to move forward.

“Last month, the president announced that he completely understands how frail the industry is. That was a month ago and we are in the same position as we were then. We appeal to government on every level to ensure this industry gets back on its feet.”

– simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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