Local hotels, bed and breakfast, lodges and backpackers have slashed rates, in some cases by up to 50%, in a desperate bid to attract a few visitors to their establishments as part of recovery measures for the hard-hit tourism sector.
The facilities have been allowed to open their doors to visitors under strict lockdown regulations for the first time in five months since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism Business Council of SA has already predicted that it may take two to three years for the industry to go back to 2019 visitor numbers.
Andile Mokhathi, who runs Urban Guide, a tourist guide company which provides wildlife, city and hiking tours in Gauteng, said he was now offering travellers packages at reduced prices to encourage leisure travel.
“I am offering the same packages which I sold to international tourists. Locals want the same thing that the international tourists want but they will not be able to afford it. I have had to cut my prices on average by up to 50% to cater for the local market. I have now also included kids in my tours so that families can be able to travel together,’ Mokhathi said.
Mokhathi’s trip to the Cradle of Humankind, about 50km northwest of Johannesburg, normally costs R985. It has now been reduced to R670. To recover from the financial slump he has suffered, Mokhathi said he will no longer be using freelance guides but will do tours himself using his own vehicle to maximise income.
Mokhathi said he suffered a lot during the lockdown. He received R4,500 spread over three months in relief funding. His business was booked until December and some of his clients cancelled and requested refunds.
“It really was tough ... There was absolutely no income. I have a car which I am paying for, life cover, rent and all domestic things that I had to honour. These were negatively affected,” he said.
Phineas Kutumela, chairperson of the Soweto Guesthouses Association, said their members were now willing to cut prices by up to 30%. “The other thing we will do in my business will be to send everyone who has been to my guest house since 2010 an e-mail alerting them that we are open and Covid-19 compliant, and my prices are low,” he said.
Kutumela said most of the members did not receive relief funding from the department of tourism due to issues of compliance in relation to audits and tax.
Siyanda Dlamini, who runs River Meadow Manor, a boutique lodge in Irene outside Pretoria, said he has already contacted his regular clients to indicate that he is open for business and to better understand their specific needs. He has had to cut his pricing by up to 20% in response to the financial pressure that his clients are facing.
“I’m also promoting the fact that my rooms are all about the garden. They all have a balcony that you have to go through to get to your bedroom. There is no passage or lift, which minimises contact from person-to- person. I am also promoting the fact that we will serve you breakfast and other meals on the balcony of your room where there are already tables and chairs for extra safety,” Dlamini said.
He is also marketing his business based on its history. The property belonged to former prime minister Jan Smuts, and later became a white-owned boutique hotel.
Nicky Weimar, chief economist at Nedbank, said for the tourism sector to recover during the current lockdown regulations it needs domestic business travel and leisure tourism. Weimar warned that many businesses had suffered losses which will limit their travel spend.
“A lot of companies will go to cash reservation mode. Their priority will be to stay in business ... A lot of companies have found that you do not need to travel given what technology allows you to do. Travelling will be an area that companies will target for cost saving. That will then hurt the hospitality industry,” Weimar said.
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