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Moneyweb writes that with SA gearing up to ease Covid-19 lockdown restrictions even further, one industry getting left behind is the tourism and hospitality sector, which directly employed 740,000 in 2018.
In that year the sector contributed 2.8% to real GDP, while its indirect contribution accounted for 8.2%. When SA implemented a hard nationwide lockdown in March, the sector, which involves travel, accommodation, conference centres, restaurants, bars and other leisure activities, was brought to a standstill. Much of the industry will remain so as the country moves to Level 3 in June in order to “maintain social distancing” said President Cyril Ramaphosa in a national briefing on Sunday. A survey of 1,610 respondents which was released in April and which looked at the impact of Covid-19 on businesses in the sector, showed that in March 99% of the firms had been negatively affected, while 58% were unable to service their debts and 54% could not cover their fixed costs. When it comes to employees, 50% of the respondents had reduced staff wages, 32% had placed workers on a leave of absence and 11% had made their workers redundant. “A total devastation,” said Lee Zama of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa in describing how the virus has impacted the industry. Zama said the sector should be opened further because the extension of the restrictions beyond the current time would “result in an even bigger demise of the sector” requiring an even longer recovery period.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tebogo Tshwane at Moneyweb
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