Concern at drop in beachgoing tourists
Sharp decline in bookings has hospitality industry worried
THE ANNUAL holiday season trek from inland to the coast has the hospitality industry worried as bookings indicate a sharp drop. Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) said their members had expressed concern over a drop in the number of visitors, especially to Cape Town’s beaches.
Fedhasa chief executive Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said in terms of bookings the number of holidaymakers showed a decrease.
“One of the main causes is that the economy hasn’t gone up much, and also probably because many companies are not giving bonuses and many people are not travelling.
“It may also be because they are staying at Airbnbs.”
Tshivhengwa said Fedhasa represented more than 2 000 members of the hospitality industry.
“We are seeing that people from Gauteng are not travelling to the coast.
“For us as an industry, we are concerned. “The holiday season is not as booked as it used to be.
“Others are driving closer to where they live.”
He said the country’s economy needed to improve before they would see any change.
“We understand that travel is not a need and that the price of petrol is high, that also can be a factor, but we have issued a lot of specials to encourage people to book accommodation.
“We are ready, but we are seeing that the economy is depressed and people are choosing how to spend their money.”
Wesgro chief marketing officer Judy Lain said it was not yet possible to speculate on the number of tourists who will be visiting this season.
“We will have to wait for the season to be over to collect accurate data.
“What we do know is that domestic tourists are increasingly making last-minute bookings, and are difficult to track, because they arrive by car, sometimes stay with family and friends, and use a variety of new online bookings options.”