While some in the tourism industry are cautiously optimistic after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of the Advanced Level Three regulations, many are also calling for clarity as a matter of urgency.

Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Dan Plato, joined Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, in a call for urgent clarity from national government as to when these industries, including tourism, will be allowed to trade so that they can start the necessary preparations to safely open their businesses.

"The hospitality industry is a key contributor to the Cape Town economy, employing thousands of locals. Many will have already lost job opportunities in this sector and will be desperate to get back to work,” said Plato.

Maynier added that while his provincial government was particularly pleased that more tourism businesses would be able to operate as a result of this announcement, further clarity was required on whether this included accommodation for leisure purposes and, especially, whether inter-provincial travel for leisure purposes would be permitted. If not, then these businesses will not get the flow of customers they need to survive the COVID-19 crisis. 

“The tourism industry has already done a great deal of work to develop health and safety guidelines and protocols aimed at ‘de-risking’ the sector, and we will continue to engage actively with the sector to assist them to put these safety measures in place,” said Maynier.

Minister of Tourism, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, did clarify on her social media pages that borders would not be opened under this advanced stage of lockdown Level 3, but many questions still remain to be answered, with respondents on the Tourism Update site and social media pages expressing frustration at the lack of clarity as well as the need to re-allow inter-provincial travel.

“Opening inter-provincial borders is an integral part of opening the country for domestic tourism. It is a fact that the majority of locals wanting – and being able to afford! – a safari getaway, live in Gauteng. And that's not where the lodges are,” said Director of Alpha Destinations, Angela Matthews.

“The safety protocols are all in place. What else needs to be done to finally get the ball rolling?” she added.