Cape Town Can’t Wait for Visitors! Tourism Sector to Rebuild after Red List Damage

Cape Town says it is destination-ready and can’t wait to welcome back its visitors… many of whom will be SA expats heading home for the holidays, or British sun-seekers desperate to soak up SA’s fabulous culture, cuisine and cool beaches.

The UK has scrapped its red list (from 4am Wednesday) meaning that their travellers are once again free to book flights to South Africa’s stunning shores without fear of massive quarantine costs upon return to their home country.

The announcement follows another massive lobby effort from SA’s tourism sector.

James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth in the City of Cape Town, said: “Just a few weeks ago, I happily welcomed passengers disembarking from the first British Airways flight after South Africa was removed from that red list and I look forward to greeting the next group! We have made sure to keep Cape Town top of mind for UK travellers with our destination marketing campaign up and running in and around London.

“Britain is a key source market for Cape Town in terms of both travel and trade. It is now time for other governments across the globe to follow Britain’s lead and stop these ineffective travel bans. We need global solidarity to beat this virus. South Africa has played its part and the rest of the world should reward and not punish us for doing so.”

Tourism Sector Welcomes South Africa’s Removal from UK Red List

David Frost, CEO SATSA, representative body for in-bound tourism businesses in South Africa said:

“This is welcome news but red-listing Southern Africa for just three weeks caused incalculable damage to jobs and livelihoods in the region, with little discernible benefit to health outcomes in the UK.

“The UK government must now consign this blunt instrument to history and recognise the devastating impact red lists have to confidence amongst the travelling public.”

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, Chief Executive Officer – TBCSA, said:

“You are as likely to catch Omicron in Coventry as you are in Cape Town, and the scientific evidence is clear, that for most people this variant results in a mild disease which poses no threat to public health.

“Millions of people across Southern Africa are dependent on tourism for an income, and thousands more families are waiting anxiously to know if their loved ones will be home for the holidays. The UK needs to act immediately to begin rebuilding trust with the Global South where this travel policy has caused anger and resentment.”

SA’s Tourism Sector needs to be rebuilt – Travel Ban Caused Great Damage

FEDHASA welcomed the announcement after a week of speculation and clear indications from health experts and epidemiologists that the travel bans are not effective.

Rosemary Anderson, FEDHASA National Chair said: 

“This second red listing in less than a year, and one that was unfairly imposed against Southern Africa, has done immense damage to the region’s international brand and created unnecessary insecurity and lack of confidence in inbound travel to the destination.

“We now have to do our best to rebuild confidence and save what is left of our summer season – working together like never before to position the destination as appealing.”

For travel to thrive, travellers need confidence. The red list had the effect of eroding confidence in long-haul travel to Southern Africa and it would be naïve not to acknowledge this, adds Anderson.

“However, that does not mean we can’t try harder than ever before to regain what we have lost and build a public-private partnership the likes of which has already been initiated by Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to get South Africa back on the map. In times of difficulty lies opportunity and I sincerely believe with the proactive and positive attitude and actions that Minister Sisulu has demonstrated so far, together we will build the destination so that we are in an even stronger position than before COVID.”

ASATA Urges Countries Worldwide to Follow the UK’s Lead

ASATA is urging countries around the world to follow the UK’s lead and scrap travel restrictions on South Africa. Several countries issued travel bans for SA after the UK put the country on its Red List.

“Within the space of a couple of hours, South Africans were banned from travelling to dozens of countries around the world. We urge that these countries react with the same swiftness and urgency now by also lifting their travel bans and restrictions on South Africa with immediate effect,” says Otto de Vries, CEO ASATA.

The travel bans imposed on South Africa were nothing short of devastating for the travel industry. Forward bookings – totally almost R1-billion in just the first 48 hours – collapsed with feedback from the industry suggesting that bookings until mid-February 2022 were severely impacted.

FEDHASA’s Anderson says the R1bn lost in the first 48 hours is a “drop in the ocean” compared to what has been lost over the past three weeks.

“We are still counting the short-, medium- and long-term collateral damage that the second red listing caused to many companies that depend heavily on inbound international tourism. Many of these businesses had just managed to survive the last red listing and had borrowed funds to provide capital to carry them forward into the summer where they could try to stabilise their precarious financial situation,” explains Anderson.

De Vries said: “We are hopeful that we can save a part of the December/January holidays for at least some South African travellers whether they’d like to spend a well-deserved holiday or have been dreaming to spend the festive season with their loved ones overseas.”

FEDHASA is urging the South African government to continue diplomatic discussions with their Western counterparts on how variant discoveries should be handled in future.

“What governments around the world don’t realise or perhaps don’t value is the mental, emotional, financial and social toll their actions cause. History will not look kindly on the actions that our global governments have taken over the past two years in the ‘spirit’ of stemming the spread of COVID. It will take many years to heal,” Anderson concludes.

The impact of the UK’s Red List on Southern Africa

Here are some key facts about tourism in SA:

• The UK is the largest overseas market for tourism into South Africa.
• In a typical year approximately 450,000 British passport holders travel into South Africa, contributing to national income from tourism of R265 billion ($18bn).
• One job in tourism supports up to ten people in rural areas.
• Tourism supports 1.5 million jobs in South Africa, generating vital income for training and education. This disproportionately benefits the life chances of young women given that approximately 70% of tourism workers are themselves women.

Travel and tourism is also critical to the funding of conservation in Africa. Over the past 30 years the South African government’s financing for parks and biodiversity protection has declined in favour of a model sustained by eco-tourism. Without this income, rural communities are hit hard. Wildlife is looked at as food rather than an asset to be protected, and tourism infrastructure is destroyed.

Vos urged travellers to the Mother City to visit www.capetown.travel for updates and details on the city’s campaigns and offerings, especially the pocket-friendly experiences.