Operations remain cautious
Tourism players continue to reel in harsh conditions due to the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic over the past two year. Anticipation for better returns during the festive season was washed away by the outbreak of a new COVID - 19 variant - omicron in the last quarter of 2021, but hospitality industry remains optimistic.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of Phakalane Estates, the operators of Phakalane Hotel, Subramaniam Parthiban says business has remained stable and strong, in large part due to conservative management approaches.
“The tourism and hospitality industry was of course incredibly hard hit by the pandemic, and in many ways it is in both crisis mode and recovery mode at the same time,” said Parthiban.
Parthiban said their situation was severe as the Group underwent major renovation at the Phakalane Hotel and Conferencing Centre shortly before COVID- 19 hit.
“And this certainly put a dampener on things,” said Parthiban. However, despite challenges unraveling in the tourism industry under COVID- 19 pandemic, Parthiban said the hotel has escalated health protocols for safety and well- being of staff, patrons, guests and stakeholders. “These measures continue to date, and as this new normal continues, we are more than geared to weather the storm. Now, we are seeing the return of engagement, events and travelers in recent months, and are very optimistic for the future. We continue delivering the dream, ambitiously, optimistically and safely,” said the upbeat Parthiban.
Okavango Wilderness Safaris Board Chairman, Kabelo Binns said the tourism sector has certainly been hard hit by the COVID- 19 pandemic and this state of affairs still exists today, almost two years on.
“No business can survive such a sustained reduction in income, over such an extended period, without adopting strong measures to protect itself,” said Binns, highlighting that occupancies and revenues in the financial year ended 28 February 2021, were a mere five percent of those in the prior year.
He said although Okavango Wilderness Safaris’ current financial year has shown some improvement, turnover is still not much more than a quarter of that to be expected in a normal year.
Binns further highlighted that during the last quarter of 2021, the business saw some recovery and had hoped for a busier holiday. However, the onset of the new variant, coupled with overreaction by many Western governments, came as a great disappointment to the company’s hopes.
“We also had to deal with significant operational disruptions to the remaining business due to increased numbers of positive cases in guests and staff, despite ongoing application of stringent protocols,” said Binns.
Enveloped in challenges, Okavango Wilderness Safaris was prudent and conservative in its approach.
“We needed to make some very difficult decisions to protect the long- term viability of the business, from immediate deferral of all non- essential capital expenditure to cost containment,” said Binns.
Meanwhile, Binns said Okavango Wilderness Safaris hopes that the variant will be the last major impact of the pandemic and 2022 will be the year for recovery of the industry.
“Indications at this stage are positive but we are not out of the woods and rebuilding the industry will take time,” said Binns. He said the company remains cautiously optimistic that the beauty of Botswana’s wilderness will be enjoyed by people from across the globe in great numbers as before this pandemic.