Weekend Argus reports that the Covid-19 pandemic has had such a severe impact on tourism that authorities say visitor numbers dwindled to something like 30 years ago when SA barely registered on the international travel map.

Meanwhile, SA Tourism indicated that 50,000 tourism businesses have either temporarily or permanently closed. Domestic and international tourist numbers are down significantly in SA as a result of the strict lockdown measures and economists say there is no quick fix. The latest report released by Statistics SA into traveller movements showed that for December, when compared to the previous year’s figures, arrivals for foreign travellers dropped by a staggering 82.1% from more than 1.5 million in 2019 to about 280,000. Numbers of South Africans travelling in and out of the country also declined, with arrivals of locals dropping by 76.3% and departures decreasing by 78.3%. StatsSA’s report showed that the tourist accommodation industry decreased by 57.7% in December compared to the previous year. Speaking at the launch of a new project to entice travellers to visit South Africa this week, SA Tourism chief executive Sisa Ntshona said a lot needed to be done to revive the industry.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tshego Lepule at Weekend Argus

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