Tourism Business Council confirms that government will obliterate tourism even beyond Covid-19

10 June 2020

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) presented their assessment on the impact of Covid-19 on the South African tourism sector to date and in future.

The data presented echoed the data obtained by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in preparation for its Tourism Recovery Plan, launched last week.

The TBCSA confirmed that if the lockdown is not lifted or at least lightened, between 1.1 million to 1.2 million jobs will be lost.

They presented an honest but damning assessment of the tourism sector and how it is quickly being destroyed by the government because of its refusal to open up the sector.

According to the TBCSA, over 1 000 companies have applied fo the Unemployment Insurance Fund Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme on behalf of 35 000 employees. In addition, they revealed that about 50 000 businesses have already closed in one form or another and they predict that about 600 000 direct tourism jobs will be lost in 2020 alone.

The inbound tourism industry was described as being in a dire situation.

The TBCSA stated that 60% of tourism takes place from September to March, for this reason government must provide guidance on opening up dates so that bookings can be opened immediately as tourists plan and book their holidays between 2 to 6 months in advance.

Should no such guidance be provided it will mean that tourism will be generally inactive for most of 2021 which will annihilate tourism completely.

Tourism Minister, NkhensaniKubayi-Ngubane needs to listen to the realities on the ground and do what a tourism minister is supposed to do; ensure that tourism grows and thrives.

Issued by Manny de Freitas,DA Shadow Minister of Tourism, 10 June 2020