President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement last night that South Africa would move to adjusted alert Level 1 was hailed as a welcome boost for the economy, especially the tourism and hospitality sector, but renewed calls were made to end the National State of Disaster and that it must come to an end.

“This is an extreme tool that cannot be used indefinitely, especially if we are to rapidly grow our economy, create millions of jobs, and recover. And so, while I welcome the move to alert Level 1, I remain concerned that no clear announcement was made by the President on when the National State of Disaster will end,” said Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde. 

FEDHASA National Chairperson, Rosemary Anderson, said the announced changes came at a time when green shoots were being seen with the reopening of South Africa to many key international source markets, along with the promise of the country being lifted from the UK’s red list imminently.

“With the new curfew times and the number of patrons we can now accommodate, the tourism and hospitality sector gets the green light to resume our operations in a responsible but financially viable way,” said Anderson.

“Along with the news that the Netherlands joins a long list of countries that have lifted inconvenient requirements for vaccinated travellers to travel to and from South Africa, the announcement gives us hope that the 2021 summer season will be one during which the tourism and hospitality sector can begin to rebuild in earnest.”

FEDHASA said it was further heartened by President Ramaphosa’s discussion with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“With the United Kingdom being South Africa’s main source market and contributing to 440 000 annual arrivals, the current travel ban has dire consequences for livelihoods in South Africa’s tourism and hospitality sector. As we enter the peak summer holiday season and pent-up demand from the UK for the warmth of South Africa heightens, lifting these restrictions swiftly must be our focus. This is especially since scientists have shown the reason the UK has kept us on the red list – the fear of the Beta variant – is no longer valid,” said Anderson.

City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Assets, James Vos, expressed relief at Ramaphosa’s call to Johnson.

“With our traditionally busy summer season just weeks away, we must keep the pressure on the UK government so that they can reverse this decision. I will continue to make submissions as part of our lobby effort to show that we are destination-ready. Looking to the future, we must now focus our energies on saving what’s left, put the pieces of what has been lost back together, and make our economy stronger than ever,” he said.

‘Vaccinations still key’

Anderson cautioned, however, that the move to Adjusted Level 1 regulations did not mean that it was back to business as usual. The threat of a fourth wave, with pressure on hospitals and resulting restrictions, looms if every South African does not play their part in adhering to the non-pharmaceutical protocols and gets vaccinated.

“We are delighted to hear that Vuma Vaccination weekends are being rolled out to increase the level of vaccinations in the country. Our international travellers cite vaccination levels in the destination as a key criterion for deciding whether to travel to South Africa.”