There is hope for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the tourism sector who have found themselves struggling to keep afloat due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CEO of tourism solutions company, Jurni, Dr Nomvuselelo Songelwa, said tourism SMMEs could survive the lockdown by remembering that they were not alone in these uncertain times and that now was the time for the industry to rally together for a strong way forward.

“SMMEs should take the time to reflect and plan during the nationwide lockdown and find ways to remain connected to not only their clients but to the associations and organisations within the industry,” Songelwa told Tourism Update.

“In this situation we find ourselves in, it’s imperative to increase the visibility of your business in a cleverly targeted way on various social media platforms for your audience to see.”

She said travellers’ new “normal” travelling habits – such as smaller, more family-focused groups who want to re-connect on a trip – would help to inform the tourism industry on what must be done post-COVID-19. She suggested that the industry, including the SMMEs, should observe these new habits (often posted by individual travellers via social media), keep an eye out for the trends and strategise around these possible behavioural changes as soon as possible.

Songelwa said SMMEs should actively participate in the tourism recovery plan webinars hosted by South African Tourism. She explained that the travel community would remember the businesses across the travel supply chain that set themselves apart and rose to meet the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Once we have overcome the pandemic, our resilience will be a great selling point in future,” said Songelwa.

The government has provided various financial relief efforts to the tourism sector such as the Tourism Relief Fund and the COVID-19 UIF Beneficiary Process Temporary Employers Relief Scheme.

“Nothing can be enough in these unprecedented times but let’s appreciate the efforts made by both the private sector and the government,” said Songelwa. “This pandemic is a wake-up call to both big and small businesses and the world will not be the same afterwards, but we can do all we can to survive the pandemic and come out stronger together.”