Tourism bigwigs respond to new festive season COVID-19 restrictions
As President Cyril Ramaphosa updated South Africans on the current status of the coronavirus pandemic in the country on Monday night, travel industry leaders have given the new stricter measures their full support.
Ramaphosa confirmed fears of tighter regulations, including by announcing that the number of people at indoor and outdoor gatherings has been reduced in a bid to curb super-spreader events.
New restrictions heavily affect tourism industry
Other stricter decisions that will significantly affect the travel and tourism industry this festive season include the shutting down of public access to beaches in all hotspot coastal areas from Wednesday 16 December to Sunday 3 January.
These include, among others, the beaches of the Eastern Cape, particularly Nelson Mandela Bay, one of the biggest virus hotspots, and all the beaches of the Garden Route, where infections have also spiked. The Bay and Garden Route both rely heavily on summer holiday visitors for revenue.
Curfews have also been extended and alcohol sales have been banned country-wide over weekends, with the exception of wine farms.
Balanced approach on festive season restrictions welcomed
Flight Centre SA’s MD, Andrew Stark, said the president and government had taken a very balanced approach to keeping the economy going and allowing people to travel, while at the same time focusing on saving lives.
“If we think back to where we’ve been before – until now the government has used the blunt instrument of a hard and severe lockdown. As South Africans we’ve been through tougher times,” Stark said.
“We currently still remain under level one, and we still have the flexibility to travel and get outside and move. We just have limited choice as as to what we can do in most destinations: be it the curfew, be it alcohol sales, be it restaurants, be it beach accessibility.
Beach closures a big knock to tourism
“KwaZulu-Natal is seeing beach closures on the busiest days of the festive season, while a harder stance is taken for the Eastern Cape, possibly because of more limited capacity in hospitals in those areas,” Stark said.
“We need to remember that we’ve all got a responsibility to act responsibly and stay in our immediate bubbles.
“It is a time to celebrate, but if we don’t pull together South Africans, it could be a disastrous Christmas and a disastrous start to 2021. I think all South Africans want a better start to 2021 compared to the late start we experienced in 2020 in February.
‘More to holidays than going to the beach‘
“People are still allowed to travel and go on their holidays, but they’re being asked to travel responsibly. There is a lot to do in the Eastern Cape besides the beach. I’ve been on holiday to the Eastern Cape and only went to the beach once or twice because the weather wasn’t great.
“It’s a great time to spend with loved ones. And, if the beach is a non-negotiable for some travellers, Flight Centre can help re-accommodate them to other South African destinations. There are still many options available.”
Full compliance by tourism needed: ‘No compromise’
The Association of Southern African Travel Agents (Asata) has also reiterated its commitment to the travel and tourism industry’s compliance with stringent health and hygiene protocols in the context of the pandemic.
“We need now the full compliance of the health and hygiene protocols that have been put in place by the sector, no compromise,” Asata CEO Otto de Vries said.
“It’s up to us to ensure we don’t go back to where we were before and that means proper implementation of the comprehensive protocols that have been devised specifically for our sector, and managing the compliance of our customers, guests and travellers.
“It really is that simple. It’s in our hands.”
Industry leaders relieved tourism not at complete standstill
At Fancourt, one of the Garden Route’s biggest holiday accommodation and leisure drawcards, sales and marketing MD Peter Dros said government’s consideration of the tourism industry in issuing the new restrictions was appreciated.
“The fact that travel hasn’t come to a complete standstill allows us to keep our doors open and our staff employed.
“Fancourt is complying fully with health and safety protocols and ensuring that our staff, members and guests are doing the same. Within the last week we took the decision to postpone some planned events, we have limited restaurant numbers and are practising social distancing at all times,” Dros said.
“We understand that the heightened restrictions have been put in place to keep people safe – and we appreciate that government has kept the tourism industry and tourism jobs in mind when making these decisions.”
No comments: