Minister of No Tourism must provide a date for reopening of international travel to prevent more job losses
2 September 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will be writing to the Minister of no Tourism, MmamolokoKubayi-Ngubane, to request that she provides a date as to the opening of South Africa’s borders for international travel as well as the preparation thereof.
This comes after the Minister’s comments at the launch of the National Tourism Month this week reconfirming that she has no clue or understanding about tourism and its functions in reality. Unbelievably, Kubayi-Ngubane said that local tourism enterprises which cater for international tourists must adapt their offerings to suit the domestic market while our international borders remain closed.
If truth be told, Kubayi-Ngubane is indeed the ‘Minister of No Tourism’, because she is oblivious to the fact that when a tourism product is designed and priced for the international market, rates can’t be dropped because domestic travellers don't carry strong foreign currencies. The Minister of no Tourism surely cannot expect that airlines, for example, drop their prices to the same rate as that of taxis or buses, it simply is not financially feasible.
It is for this reason that the DA will be writing to the Minister of no Tourism to request that she provides the tourism sector with a date as to when our borders will reopen so that the international tourism sector can start preparing for tourists and promoting South Africa to the world. She needs to provide a date backed by scientific evidence, not one that is thumb sucked by her colleagues in Cabinet.
International tourists will only book their holidays only once they know when our borders will open. And local tourism enterprises need a date to start making reservations, planning for Covid-19 health measures, and in order to boost the economy and save livelihoods.
Domestic tourism is but one component of this sector, there are many businesses that continue to suffer economic hardships with jobs still being lost.
Issued by Manny de Freitas,DA Shadow Minister of Tourism, 2 September 2020
