What South Africa's Virus Protocols Tell Us About Balancing a Travel Economy With a Nation's Health
Skift Take
South Africa is understandably cautious as it approaches winter, and doing all it can to stave off a health crisis. But its strict and prolonged protocols might end up doing more harm than good.
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On Monday, South Africa downgraded to phase three of its five-step lockdown plan. But its international borders will remain closed. Domestically, though, some airlines are preparing to fly again as business travel only will be permitted. As the lockdown continues, corporate travel industry players there are concerned many suppliers won't be able to survive for much longer. There’s no equivalent of a $2.2 trillion CARES Act, or job retention schemes that pay high percentages of furloughed employees' salaries. “Covid-19's effect has been tremendous. It has magnified the inequality and the ills of our society including the structure of the economy. Tourism all round — including business tourism — is probably one of the most hit sectors,” said one commercial manager at a global travel management company, based in Johannesburg, who wished to remain anonymous. “This is exacerbated by the fact that the National Command Council is using untested and unscientific theories to keep the sector shut, which is sad. Many hotel chains, travel companies, airlines and other providers in the value chain have resorted to retrenchments as the government assistance is inadequate and unsustainable.” Monique Swart, founder of the African Business Travel Association, agrees. “For corporate travel agencies and hotels, there have been a lot of retrenchments. The big brands we work with have seen 30, 40, 50 percent retrenchment rates, which is insane. We don’t know if a lot of these companies will rehire staff,” she said. She added the government limits aid to just $3,000 per company, with most of these grants directed towards the accommodation sector. “A lot of companies are at risk and need to open up as soon as possible