Tourism

The summer of 2021/22 will be vital for the sector.

Credit: Sun International

Hotel groups such as Sun International survived the Covid-19 lockdown, but only by closing some of its facilities and retrenching more than 2 000 staff. The group’s South African operations improved overall income by 52% for the six months to June 2021, compared to the previous six months, but the total effect of the Covid-19 lockdown over 18 months was estimated by Sun International CEO Anthony Lemming to be a loss of R3.5-billion in ebitda, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Sunday Times).

With uncertainty about exactly who could travel to South Africa, occupation rates for the 2021/22 season could not be accurately predicted but everyone agreed that having a good season would be vital for the health of the sector. City Lodge Hotels told the Sunday Times that 60% occupancy rates had been achieved over the Heritage Day long weekend, a signal that domestic tourism was picking up. December bookings at Sun City (pictured) were expected to be better than before the pandemic hit. Tsogo Sun’s Beverly Hills Hotel in KwaZulu-Natal was anticipating no vacancies for December.

Hospitality Property Fund Limited delisted from the JSE in 2021 and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tsogo Sun Hotels Limited, giving Hospitality shareholders shares in a more liquid stock and the hotel group an expanded property portfolio. Most of Hospitality’s 54 properties (with about 9 000 rooms) were operated by Tsogo Sun.

According to John Loos, a property strategist at FNB Commercial

Property Finance, an overlooked factor in many analyses of the Covid-19 lockdown has been how technology has shown that some business travel can be avoided altogether. Corporate travel budgets will be cut, and fewer physical conferences will be held, he predicts, which will put the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) sector under even more pressure.

When the Marriott International hotel group closed three of its South African hotels during the Covid-19 lockdown, Tsogo Sun Hotels, which owns a controlling stake in all three hotels, stepped up its commitment by agreeing to bring them into its portfolio, keep them open and run them.

A three-billion-year-old microfossil found in the Makhonjwa Mountains in Mpumalanga is thought to be the oldest sign of life on the planet. The Makhonjwa Mountains is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Culture and heritage accounts for 40% of world tourism and is one of the fastest-growing subsectors.

There are 711 745 people employed in the tourism industry nationally, with road transport (29%), food and beverages (20%) and accommodation (19%) absorbing the largest numbers. The sector contributes 9% to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP). ■

ONLINE RESOURCES

African Business Travel Association: www.abta.co.za South African National Parks: www.sanparks.co.za South African Tourism: www.southafrica.net SECTOR INSIGHT The Hospitality Property Fund is now a subsidiary of Tsogo Sun Hotels.