Move to restore state’s travel budget

Tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane wants the Treasury to bring back the budget for government travel and conferencing to boost the flagging tourist industry.

Kubayi-Ngubane said at a function on Thursday to reveal the tourism recovery plan — which was approved by the cabinet this week — that she has approached finance minister Tito Mboweni about this idea.

“The cutting of travel and conferencing in government is not assisting the recovery of the tourism sector and we would want to see those budgets brought back,” she said.

Government travel and conferencing has been sharply reduced by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has restricted travel and seen face-to-face meetings replaced by virtual ones. They were also slashed as part of the deep cuts introduced in the 2021/2022 budget to stabilise government debt in a fiscal crisis brought about by an economic contraction and falling government revenue.

The tourism recovery plan was drawn up in a bid to assist the struggling industry bounce back from the devastating affect of the pandemic. The industry, which contributed about 8% to GDP before the pandemic, employed about 1.5-million people and has been identified as a driver of growth for SA’s sluggish economy.

PRESERVE JOBS

The plan’s aim is to preserve value and jobs in the sector, help it recover to its 2019 output and employment levels by 2023, and position it for long-term sustainable growth.

At the plan’s launch, KubayiNgubane mentioned data released by Stats SA this week that showed total income for the food and beverage industry for 2020 decreased by 40.5% to R33.7bn compared to R56.6bn the previous year.

Nominal income for the tourist accommodation industry decreased by 72.7% in February compared to the same month in 2020.

She emphasised that the recovery has to be driven. This needs the assistance of other government departments and the private sector.

For instance, the introduction of e-visas by the department of home affairs would be critical to ease international travel tourist safety, and expediting the turnaround times in processing tour operators’ licences would also help.

In Kubayi-Ngubane’s opening remarks she conceded that the vaccination rollout both in SA and globally would be the main determinant of the recovery of the sector.

A variant first found in SA has had a negative effect on the country’s brand abroad, she said. SA has been placed on a travel alert by many countries. The US put SA on its red list of restricted countries on Wednesday.

MAINSTAY

A key focus of the recovery plan is on developing the domestic tourism market as a mainstay as countries place restrictions on travel to and from SA.

“We have seen a rise in domestic travel,” the minister said. “During Easter, some of the facilities were able to call back the workers they had last called to come to work in February last year.”

Tourism Business Council of SA CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, who also spoke at the event, said that domestic travel is doing well and is the only sector of the industry that is vibrant at the moment.

The plan includes seven strategic interventions in three key pillars: protect and rejuvenate supply; re-ignite domestic demand through targeted initiatives and campaigns; and strengthen enabling capabilities to support the recovery.

Kubayi-Ngubane said there is a need to intensify marketing and communicating with stakeholders on the international front in a bid to re-ignite international demand, even if it is just to secure bookings for the festive season at the end of the year.

Revitalising and upgrading facilities and ensuring their maintenance is also part of the plan with the government committed to doing this for its own facilities. Also key is adopting norms and standards to ensure safe travel and to build foreign tourist confidence.

Kubayi-Ngubane emphasised regional tourism integration so that Southern African is marketed as an entire package.