The cumulative cost of load shedding to South Africa's economy in 2019 was between R59bn (€3.68bn) and R118bn (€7.35bn), according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)  –  with the tourism industry indicating a strong need to find alternative power sources to ensure the ambitious tourism growth goals are reached.

There’s still no clarity on whether Eskom will be able to keep the lights on, especially following news earlier today (Wednesday) that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) only granted the power utility a 5.23% price hike instead of the 19.9% it requested.

To informally establish the extent to which the tourism industry has been affected, Tourism Update ran a poll earlier this month, with 42% of participants highlighting that they had been  heavily affected while only 21% said the industry wasn’t affected as people had found alternative means of power.

General Manager of City Lodge Morningside and Chairman of the Sandton Tourism & Business Association, Francois van Heerden, told Tourism Update that for his hotel, having a generator on site “made all the difference”.

He added, however, that other smaller establishments without generators had definitely felt the impact. “The cost of installing a generator is huge, as well as the cost of the fuel to run it,” said Van Heerden. “The reality is that that load shedding affects the economy negatively, which affects tourism.”

He explained that his hotel group installed solar power and 40% of the power was used by hotels in the group. “This is not only cost-efficient but eco-friendly,” said Van Heerden, adding that he believed the tourism industry as a whole should work with government to find a sustainable solution.

CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Enver Duminy, pointed out that while visitors to the Mother City had many attractions they could enjoy with or without electricity, the unexpected news of load shedding – which went up to Stage 6 late last year – brought an element of uncertainty for tourism operators.

“They face a situation where they may have to suddenly change itineraries, urgently finding alternative activities not requiring power,” he said.