Small ray of sunshine rises for Mpumalanga tour operators

MBOMBELA - After the announcement that intraprovincial leisure travel is once again legal, came another that gave tour guides across the Lowveld a glimmer of hope.

They are now allowed to provide their expert services to nature enthusiasts across Mpumalanga.

The finer regulations that will have to be adhered to have not yet been published, but as per Government Gazette published on July 31, they will be allowed to lead guided tours in parks.

As leisure travel is allowed, overnight stays are also part of this.

The Gazette states that hotels, lodges, bed and breakfasts, timeshare facilities and resorts and guest houses will remain closed, except to the extent that these facilities are required for accommodation by:

• the remaining tourists confined to such facilities;

• persons for work purposes;

• persons in quarantine or isolation;

• persons utilising such facilities for intraprovincial leisure purposes.

Hylton Langley, organiser of the Lowveld’s slow-drive protests over the past few weeks, said the more they open up, the better.

“A lot of tour operators are getting ready to hopefully get going and be ready for any local tourism.”

However, from the start, it has been mentioned that many tour operators’ clients come from abrCoOaRdO.NA

A change in the type of operations would also require changes in things like insurance.

Keeping vehicles on point when it comes to the soon to be published regulations would also involve extra costs.

Langley admitted that it might not be worth being up and running for only one or two tours a month.

He was still glad, however. “Hopefully it’s the gap in the door which we can start pushing open more and more. It has to be that way.”

“A lot of the guys are very excited anCdORONA it means that they can go into the parkWHinAT the vehicles, but the problem is we donN’EtED have a big enough base in Mpumalanga to sustain it. The government has to realise it’s not going to sustain tourism is South Africa.”