The Tourism Business Council of South Africa welcomes the lifting of the National State of Disaster. The government implemented these regulations in response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The TBCSA strongly believes the Disaster Management Act has fulfilled its mandate.
This decision to terminate the National State of Disaster bodes well for the South African economy in general and the tourism sector in particular. We fully support President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call that it is now time to rebuild our economy and get it back on track. The lifting of the National State of Disaster and the subsequent termination of the national lockdown means that people can start travelling with more ease and explore the country freely. The president’s announcement is also well timed as it comes ahead of the Easter holidays.
“This is a significant and progressive move for the tourism sector. We can now move towards recovering tourism in the country. We are also hopeful that as time goes by, we will have more people reporting improved business performance. We are calling on South Africans to travel in their country and help revitalise the sector,” says TBCSA CEO, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa.
Although the tourism sector has suffered huge losses over the last two years of the pandemic, it remains one of the country’s largest employers. Therefore, government should support the recovery of the tourism industry by ensuring that there will be no re-introduction of strict and movement limiting restrictions. The world is now learning to live with the virus and the tourism sector will continue to support government’s efforts to encourage vaccinations.
The Tourism Business Council will continue to lobby government on the regulations pertaining to the events sector, as well as the proposed health regulations to ensure that they are progressive and support the recovery of the tourism sector.
“We will continue to engage the authorities on improving our standing internationally. There is some more work that needs to be done to fully reopen the sector. The easing of restrictions on indoor capacity is a welcome improvement, but more still needs to be done in order to help the events industry fully recover. We need to be progressive in the management of the remaining regulations and be driven by scientific evidence, “says Tshivhengwa.