The tourism industry could take years to recover from the COVID-19 lockdown and gain momentum to reach its full capacity. That is according to Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa.
Businesses in the tourism sector to benefit from a R1.2 billion cash injection:
Tshivhengwa welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement in easing restrictions, but says the sector is still suffering amid the pandemic.
Tshivhengwa says he hopes that government’s vaccination rollout programme is a step in the right direction.
“The damage is going to be felt over the next few years to come. The world would bounce back. We will be able to rebuild, we will be able to go back to where we are, if not do better than where we were. You know what has happened,” he adds.
“It does go a long way for us. It will be tough. Businesses would close, new ones would emerge. Many people would lose their jobs, but nonetheless, we have to move on, we have to have hope and move back to some level of trade,” explains Tshivhengwa.
The Department of Tourism, led by Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, has officially launched the Tourism Equity Fund at an event that was held virtually.
The fund was established by the Department of Tourism in partnership with the Small Enterprise Finance Agency to deepen transformation in the sector.
In the video below, Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane speaks about the launch of the Tourism Equity Fund:
