Tourism industry turns its attention to local visitors

The tourism and hospitality industries are putting their hopes in domestic tourism after mass cancellations by international visitors after the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant, Omicron, which has sparked renewed fears around the world that the two-year pandemic might last longer.

Seaside towns and other tourist attractions in SA, which a week ago were hoping to welcome international visitors , had a tough pill to swallow after they lost more than R1bn in bookings for the December to March period as a result of travel bans instituted globally against SA which last week announced it had sequenced a new Covid-19 variant.

Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy described domestic tourism as “a pillar of strength” that needed to be embraced and sustained.

He said while some tourist attractions, such as Cape Town, were initially arrogant and tended to overlook domestic tourists, during the Covid-19 lockdown this has shifted dramatically, and the industry is starting to see value in investing in community-based tourism.

“Covid-19 has taught us that if you want to remain in business you need to start looking after the locals.  We can see that shift. Restaurants are beginning to see that shift and the diversity which comes in.”

As part of boosting this sector, Duminy said a lot of emphasis and investment is being ploughed into community initiatives “to get tourists out of the CBD and into the neighbourhoods- into Khayelitsha, Athlone”.

One of the campaigns Cape Town Tourism is promoting is the pocket-friendly challenge, which aims to show locals and tourists that the city is a destination for everyone irrespective of their budget.

“When people think about tourism they usually think about hotels, restaurants and  attractions, but people don’t understand the power and importance of communities in tourism. Communities are the bedrock of tourism. Communities are where people come from to work in the sector. They are places where there are authentic stories. Tourists want to hang out where locals hang out.

“Tourists will travel thousands of kilometres to go to Khayelitsha for a local experience. This is where we are trying to get locals to change that negative social dynamic we built up over the years. That is why we have identified communities as a strong part and the foundation of everything we do and why we exist,” Duminy said this week. 

Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism chair Shaun van Eck said while five-star hotels and top-end game reserves have experienced cancellations, domestic travel and bookings were not heavily affected.

“Our summer season is always about 80% to 85% local market. However, the lead times on bookings have come down a lot. People are waiting to see how the fourth wave plays out. They are also waiting to see if they get 13th cheques. The amount of bookings are not in the 2019 ratio to enquiries, but we believe we will see many people booking in the next two weeks,” he said.

A recent domestic survey by Cape Town Tourism, before the discovery of Omicron, indicated most South Africans had a strong appetite for vacationing during the festive season. About 67% of the 1,728 respondents said they intended to travel over the December season, a notable increase from the same period in 2020.

Rosemary Anderson, Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) chairperson, said while international visitors had made bookings before the discovery of Omicron, the bookings were nowhere near pre-Covid-19 levels.

“Projections anticipate we will only reach pre-Covid-19 figures for inbound international travellers in 2023 or 2024.”

The hospitality industry is running campaigns in various provinces to attract visitors to their regions.

Anderson said in December the federation and some industry players would meet tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu  to discuss ideas “about how our sector can attract more international tourism, including the new target market of digital nomads or people who work remotely from anywhere in the world”.

“Many hotels, self-catering accommodation, function venues, restaurants and other hospitality outlets are offering good packages with value-adds thrown in to attract business over the peak holiday season.  Our industry has to regain its foothold in a very competitive market, so you can get very good specials if you shop around,” said Anderson.

Tourism bodies said as part of boosting demand, they had embarked on vaccination campaigns for tourism staff and the communities they serve.

“We have encouraged our tourism business owners and their staff to get vaccinated and we had a very good response. While we do not have a percentage, I believe most have been vaccinated. Our members are well prepared for the season from a health point of view,” Van Eck said.

Duminy said the Cape Town Tourism “roll up the sleeves campaign” is aimed at getting industry employees and their communities vaccinated.

“We are looking at how to incentivise people who are hesitant. We are partnering with a private company to give free data to those who get vaccinated. That becomes an incentive, especially for the youth, for whom data is gold. I think this is how we change people’s perceptions and minds,” he said

Joan Shaw, George tourism manager, said while the industry has been dealt a heavy blow by the latest restrictions imposed on SA by countries such as the UK and US, “the domestic market has held its ground”.

“We do believe, however, that many who would have booked in the next three weeks will think twice due to fears about beach closures, losing deposits or travelling to the destination and not being able to return home.”

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