SoE Off-Putting Tourists – Chobe
The extension of the State of Public Emergency seems to weigh heavily on the tourism and hospitality industry as many countries advise their nationals not to travel to countries under a state of emergency, Business Monitor has established.
Hospitality giant, Chobe Holdings pointed in its annual report that the extension of the State of Emergency (SoE) for a further six months will again affect their operations.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 last year, the government declared the State of Emergency in April, a move which was aimed at curbing the spread of the virus, which was further extended by another six months in September ending in March.
Just as the SoE had ended, another extension was instituted in the same month, which will also end in September.
“In many instances, travel insurances cannot be obtained by persons traveling to countries being governed under such proclamations,” Chobe Holdings CEO Jonathan Gibson said.
The group said despite their best efforts to preserve cash resources and remain debt-free, the ongoing crisis forced them to draw into their prearranged overdraft facility of P25 million to the extent of exhausting P11.6 million.
Gibson said during the last half of the financial year, directors have done within reason all they could to contain costs across the board, never however losing sight of the fact that as the grip of COVID-19 releases through the roll-out of vaccines, particularly so in traditional source markets, tourism will return to Botswana thus necessitating the ongoing maintenance of properties so that “we can take immediate advantage of improving trade”.
However, he said the recovery of business in the form of domestic tourism was achieved when towards the calendar year-end travel restrictions were somewhat eased, this so, despite the heavy burden on both travelers and staff in the implementation of the many COVID-19 protocols they are subject to.
“The substantially lower than normal rates were achieved, and the relative thinness of this market precluded the generation of a meaningful impact on our bottom line. This initiative did, however, give our own citizens an opportunity to enjoy Botswana’s wildlife and landscapes at a more affordable price, from a group perspective, it ensured that our properties were brought back to standard, and most importantly, it also allowed for the remobilisation of a number of staff at full salaries,” he said.
In addition, they said during the last half of the year their marketing and reservations offices continued to pursue the “don’t cancel but defer policy” with encouraging success as the company continues to hold advance travel receipts, to the value of about P34 million at the financial year-end.